2013

Happy families and single mothers in forests

Female mammals have well-developed instincts of nurturing their young. Without any previous experience, every mother knows how to clean, feed, teach and take care of her children from the moment of their birth. When their children are born, mammal mothers nurse them, use their body heat to keep them warm, clean and protect them from enemies. Later on, they teach their young how to find food and recognize hostile animals. Those completely helpless at birth, are particularly cared for.

Mothers, in taking care of their offspring, must get by without support from the male – this is characteristic of most mammals. Their only duty is to fertilize, and what happens afterwards is not their concern. This category includes male even-toed ungulates, hares, hedgehogs, shrews, bats, some predatory animals and mouse-like rodents.

There are many males who practice polygamy and fertilize several females during the breeding season. Staying with one partner is not commonly practiced among mammals – only a small percentage do so. Nevertheless, there are many caring males in Latvia’s forests, for example – wolves, foxes and raccoon dogs. Badgers are the only representatives of Latvia’s ermine-like species worthy of being called fathers. Beavers are the most caring fathers among rodents. Muskrat males, to a certain extent, also participate in the upbringing of their children, considerably differing from other Arvicolinae.

If males chose to stay and become fathers, similar to human marriages, they form stable relationships with females in order to continue their species. Moreover, if these relationships are monogamous, such unions can be considered true families. Wolves are typical examples of animals forming such relationships. They seek new partners only when their previous ones die. Raccoon dogs also form relationships that last their entire lives. Badgers’ relationships last several years. Foxes are also family-oriented animals, but their bonding does not last long. Even though females are followed around by several males during the mating season, foxes are monogamous and their relationships last one season.

The burden of caring, which is put on the shoulders of mammals when their young are born, is determined by how well-developed their offspring is – less developed children are usually born more at a time. Obviously, the more children, the more worries.

Most mammals, who give birth to well-developed children, do not build dens or other hideouts. There is no need to do so, their children have eyesight, fur and are capable of moving about. Young even-toed ruminants – elk, red deer and roe deer, barely dry, try to stand up. An hour after their birth, they are capable of standing on their own feet. 30 minutes later – they can hobble. In a relatively small time span, the mother gathers courage and takes them elsewhere. Elk give birth to up to three calves at a time, weighing eight kilogrammes on average, red deer - one or two calves weighing eight kilogrammes on average at a time. Young or old roe deer give birth to one calf at a time, middle-aged roe deer – two to three calves.

In contrast to other even-toed ungulates, wild boars usually reproduce in previously made dens. In late winter or early spring, before birth, wild boars split up and dig trenches in dry locations, building dens from soft leaves, grasses, mosses, reeds or branches. They are built beneath fir trees with dense foliage, in reed thickets and young groves of fir or pine trees. Wild boars usually reproduce five or six piglets. Some wild boars give birth to eight or twelve piglets, others – two or three.

Grey hares usually have three to five leverets. Some hares bear one or two, others – eight or nine. The largest number of leverets usually comes during the summer season. Newborns usually weigh between 100 and 200 grams and, despite barely moving around, have eyesight, hearing and fur. Similarly to baby beavers, they are weak at birth, despite being well-developed. This weakness, however, is only short-term.