Mother's Darlings • 2016 • episode "S1E2" Baby Animals

Category: Nature

For many animals, from lemurs to hummingbirds, the maternal bond is one of the strongest forces in nature. Not only do mothers carry their young everywhere, feed them, and help teach them essential life skills, they're also their primary source of comfort and security.

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Baby Animals • 2016 • 13 episodes •

Mini Giants

Gorillas, rhinos, and elephants, three of nature's largest animals, deliver enormous babies. But the immense size of these newborns stands in stark contrast to their vulnerability. Everything from feeding to protection against predators to learning essential life skills falls on one devoted parent: their mothers.

2016 • Nature

Mother's Darlings

For many animals, from lemurs to hummingbirds, the maternal bond is one of the strongest forces in nature. Not only do mothers carry their young everywhere, feed them, and help teach them essential life skills, they're also their primary source of comfort and security.

2016 • Nature

The More the Merrier

Some species need to be part of a group to survive--more so when they're in their infancy and taking their first, uncertain steps into the world. Join in the rough-and-tumble lives of black bear cubs, playful meerkat pups, and adorable fur seals.

2016 • Nature

Survival Lessons

When you're a baby zebra, muskox, or pronghorn, there is no shortage of predators eyeing you as their next meal. From learning defensive herding to early sprinting skills, these vulnerable newborns hit the ground running with keen survival instincts.

2016 • Nature

Little Hunters

They might be young and vulnerable, but every second of these baby animals' lives is a training ground, preparing them for their destiny as an elite predator. Watch as young lions, coyotes, cheetahs, and foxes engage in the kind of play that prepares them for life at the top of the food chain.

2016 • Nature

Family Ties

Despite being born with survival instincts, some baby animals need extra help to thrive in their environment. Watch as hamadryas baboons, gentoo penguins, emperor tamarins, and capybaras all work as a family to help raise the next generation.

2016 • Nature

Raising Babies

Meet Hope, an orphaned baby moose being raised by a goat. Nearby, watch three unruly baby raccoons cause havoc between meal times. These are some of the adorable inhabitants of Park Omega, Quebec--a place where threatened animals get a second chance.

2016 • Nature

Surrogate Families

Losing a parent in the wild can be deadly for young animals, but these orphans got lucky when conservationists stepped in. Meet clouded leopard cub sisters taken in by the Nashville Zoo, a baby wombat raised in an artificial pouch at Tasmania's Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, and more.

2016 • Nature

Herd Mentality

For many animals, group living offers protection, better food, and more social opportunities. For their young, it's a valuable education. From flamboyant flamingo mating dances, to elephant calves growing up under the watchful eye of the group matriarch, peer into some of nature's most tight-knit social groups.

2016 • Nature

Endangered Species

For many endangered baby animals, the right zoo can mean hope for the entire species. Watch an endangered red panda cub get a warm welcome at Cornwall's Newquay Zoo, a rare baby macaque receive care from parents and keepers alike at the Dudley Zoological Gardens, and more.

2016 • Nature

Joined at the Hip

To say some baby animals are dependent on their parents is an understatement. At Caversham Wildlife Park in Australia, a koala joey can always be found clinging to its mom's body, and Asian small-clawed otter pups share a lifetime family bond. Enjoy a heart-warming look at mother-baby animal relationships.

2016 • Nature

Offbeat Adaptations

What's appealing about a nosy tapir with an appetite for its own poop? How about a baby gelada that crawls awkwardly on its behind? The adaptations these baby animals employ may seem strange, but they're vital to their growth and survival. Join us as we cozy up to some of nature's most peculiar young ones.

2016 • Nature

Primate Families

From crowned lemurs to Bornean orangutans, the higher we move up the primate family tree, the closer their behavior mimics our own-especially when it comes to family and raising young. Peer into the astonishing adaptations that highlight the lengths primates will go to preserve and build family bonds.

2016 • Nature

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Primates

Intelligence and adaptability allow primates to tackle the many challenges of life, and this is what makes our closest relatives so successful. This resourcefulness has enabled primates to conquer an incredible diversity of habitat. Hamadryas baboons live on the open plains of Ethiopia in groups up to 400 strong. Strength in numbers gives them some protection from potential predators. But, should their path cross with other baboon troops, it can lead to all-out battle, as males try to steal females from one another, and even settle old scores. Japanese macaques are the most northerly-dwelling primates and they experience completely different challenges. Some beat the freezing conditions by having access to a thermal spa in the middle of winter. But this privilege is only for those born of the right female bloodline. For western lowland gorillas, it's the male silverback that leads his family group in the rich forests of the Congo basin. He advertises his status to all with a powerful chest-beating display. Most primates are forest dwellers, and one of the strangest is the tarsier – the only purely carnivorous primate. As it hunts for insects the tarsier leaps from tree to tree in the dead of night, using its huge forward-facing eyes to safely judge each jump. Good communication is essential for success in primate society.

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Galapagos Enchanted Isles

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The High Life

In Part One of the miniseries "The Alps", enjoy the Alps in spring and summertime as newborn animals grow up to face the coming brutal winter. (PBS Nature Season 39 Episode 7)

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Polar

The frozen poles are home to the planet's ultimate survivalists, including polar bears, penguins and Arctic wolves; their world is changing fast -- breaking apart under their feet -- and their resilience will be tested beyond the extreme.

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