CELEBRATING BRITAIN
Keep your eyes peeled to spot these animal little ones across the UK
The endearing sight of baby lambs frolicking in lush green fields or the first glutinous bubbles of frogspawn jiggling around in ponds heralds the imminent arrival of spring. It’s the season of renewal and rebirth, and our cue to wave goodbye to winter by getting outside and witnessing the miracles of new life in the natural world.
FOX AND CUBS
Fox cubs are born blind and deaf in litters of four or five. They spend the first few days of their lives snuggled up to their mothers in the safe environment of a den. During April and May, when they are around four weeks old, the fox cubs can be seen engaging in playful combat with their siblings as they explore the outside world. At this stage their adorable blue eyes change to amber, and red fur starts to replace their soft and fluffy, brownish/grey juvenile fur.
Foxes are highly intelligent and have acute eyesight, hearing and sense of smell, all essential attributes that help them hunt for food and survive in the wild.
Sheep and lambs
The bond between a ewe and her lambs is made soon after birth, when she cleans and communicates with her new arrivals. The newborns quickly respond by drawing themselves up on their wobbly legs to seek out their first colostrum-rich feed. As their confidence grows and their legs gain strength, lambs venture away from their mothers to gambol and play in the grass with their siblings.
Lambs and ewes converse with each other by using a series of high and low bleats that are distinctive to each family group, enabling the babies to reunite with their mothers when they need a nap or for the mother to call them if she anticipates danger.
Hares and leverets
In contrast to their cousins the rabbits, who live in underground burrows, hares spend their whole lives above ground in open fields. They rely on their sharp senses and top running speeds of more than 40mph to evade predators.
Between February and September, female hares, or does, have around three litters of leverets. During the mating season, they repel any unwanted amorous attention from the bucks by standing on their hind legs and boxing with them, hence the expression ‘Mad March hares’.
Levere
