11 Precious Motherhood Moments In The Animal Kingdom

After giving birth, seal mothers drop about 600 pounds while nursing her cubs in less than a month.

Tiger cubs are born blind and don't develop sight for 6 to 12 months. They depend on their mother for their every need.

Except for a marsupial (such as a kangaroo), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother's size.

When most puppies are born, they can't hear, see or smell. They're also born without teeth.

As the kittens leave the nest, many mothers will invent a "call sign" to signal when they have strayed too far.

Hippopotamuses are born underwater. The mother helps her baby to the surface to breathe. Sometimes calves will rest on their mother’s back.

For the first 3-8 months of a baby sloth’s life, it clings to its mother, even after it has been weaned.

Prairie dogs often "kiss" when they come and go, which allows them to determine if they're members of the same family.

Mother meerkats can actually nurse their young while standing.

Mama orangutans don't put their babies down until they reach the age or 6 or 7 — that's the longest dependence of any animal on Earth.

Joeys spend six months inside their mother's pouch feeding on milk before they're able to digest their main source of food: poisonous eucalyptus leaves.