Wild Mothers!

Happy Mother's Day! 

Especially to all you wild ones!

Mother's Day inspired me to write about some of the different ways wild animals "mother" their offspring.  Bird species vary greatly in the way they care for their young.  In some cases both parents share the duties of nest building, incubation, brooding, feeding, and care of the young.  Sometimes only the mother builds the nest and takes care of the young.

In the case of the local Spotted Sandpiper, the female starts building the nest but the male finishes it.  Then, usually only the male incubates the eggs, broods, feeds, and cares for the young.  Sometimes the female helps, but mainly she spends her time defending the nesting territory and breeding with up to two other males! 

After the young birds fledge, or leave the nest, most songbirds continue to care for them for a month or more before the young disperse on their own. In general, larger birds like Cranes and Geese, stay together with their offspring for their entire first year!  I've been enjoying watching this local family of Canada Geese lately.  The goslings are so well protected by their watchful parents!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

After mating, female and male Columbian Black-tailed Deer go their separate ways.  Only the female raises the young.  The following information is from northernwoodlands.org: "Young fawns’ scent glands are not well-developed. When a fawn is born, the doe licks it clean, removing odors that might alert predators. A few hours after birth, when the fawn can stand and walk, she moves it from the birth spot to a new hiding place.  A fawn spends most of its first weeks of life bedded down alone. The doe stays away from her newborn except to nurse it periodically, and to lead it to new bed sites. That way her scent does not attract predators to the area where the fawn is hiding. If she has twins, which is common, the doe will typically hide them in separate places and make the rounds to nurse them. While the fawn nurses excitedly, its tail flicking, the doe licks its fur and genital areas to stimulate urination and defecation. She may also consume the fawn’s droppings to destroy evidence of its presence. Although secrecy is a fawn’s main defense, it has another: mom. If a fawn is in distress, it bleats, and the doe, which stays nearby, usually comes running, ready to defend it with her sharp hooves.

Fawns grow rapidly on their mother’s rich milk. By two to three weeks of age, they begin to nibble green vegetation. After a month, they will browse on tree seedlings. At this age, they begin to choose their own bedding sites and twins are reunited. By summer, young deer can outrun most danger, and trail their mother closely.  Fawns usually are weaned at two to three months. In early autumn, a fawn’s spotted coat is replaced by the gray-brown winter coat of an adult deer. Female fawns usually stay with their mothers for two years; young bucks leave after a year. A buck fawn can be identified when only a few days old by the two round spots on its head where the antlers will grow."

American Mink - Neovison vison

A few years ago I saw this American Mink and her three young swimming across the North Yuba River!!! Wow!  Male and female American Minks only come together briefly to mate.  Only the female raises the young. The following information is from animaldiversity.org. "Both males and females begin mating at ten months. Once a female is impregnated, her gestation period varies from 40 to 75 days. Mink dig their burrows in the banks of rivers, lakes and streams, or they may utilize the old dens of other mammals, such as muskrats. Mink may line the interior of their home with dried grass and leaves, as well as with the fur from past prey. The young are born in late spring (April or May), with litter sizes usually ranging between 1 to 8 individuals. Each newborn weighs less than half an ounce and appears pink and wrinkled, with a thin coat of white fur covering the body. The young open their eyes at three and a half weeks and are weaned at a month and a half. They remain with the mother through the summer until fall, when they leave to establish their own territories. Staying with their mother until fall enables the young to learn a great deal about staying safe and successfully catching prey. Once they are ready to leave, they must seek and establish their own territories, as the American mink is a basically solitary and territorial animal."

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated! Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!