Jumping Andy's Baby Animals

# Andy's Baby Animals

# If you're a polar bear and you're going somewhere

# Andy's Baby Animals

# Or an elephant calf then you'd better take care

# Andy's Baby Animals

# If you're a capuchin learning how to eat

# An ostrich chick trying to beat a retreat

# Andy's Baby Animals

# Andy's Baby Animals

# If you're a black bear looking for a tree to climb

# Andy's Baby Animals

# Or a penguin chasing Mum at breakfast time

# Andy's Baby Animals

# An orang-utan trying to make a bed

# Or a meerkat struggling with a sleepy head

# Andy's Baby Animals

# Andy's Baby Animals

# We're growing stronger everyday

# Watch them try to laugh and play

# Andy's Baby Animals

# Andy's Baby Animals. #

Hello, I'm Andy, and these are lemurs.

This mum and baby here,

they're called black lemurs.

Now, when they're born,

the babies are the same colour,

and if they're boys, they turn black,

like this baby down here,

and if they're girls, they'll go a light brown colour.

And lemurs are fantastic at jumping and they need to be

because they jump from tree to tree in the forests where they live.

The best lemur jumpers can jump 10 metres!

Which is almost as long as a bus. Incredible!

There are so many brilliant animal jumpers.

Let's jump to Namibia, in Africa.

Living in a big group is a good way for animals to stay safe.

Coming through!

It's also a great place for a youngster,

like this baby springbok,

to learn all the things it needs to know.

Like where to get a drink when it's hot.

And what to eat when it's hungry.

Yummy grass. Num-num-num-num.

Or perhaps a tasty bush.

It also needs to learn to stay away from animals like this cheetah

because they like to eat springboks for their dinner.

Quick, everyone, run away!

Ah!

But there's one lesson

that no youngster needs any encouragement to learn

because it's something that every springbok loves to do.

And that's...

spring!

And when one starts to bounce, everyone wants to bounce.

Boing!

Boing!

Boing!

ANDY LAUGHS

This springy jumping is called pronking,

which means showing off.

And when you can pronk like this,

why not show off?

Whee-hee!

THUNDER RUMBLES

Uh-oh, it looks like rain's stopped play there.

Anyone got an umbrella?

But don't worry.

As soon as the sun comes out again,

it will be time for another pronk.

Young springbok learn to jump like this

when they're only a few weeks old.

And it's not just for fun.

Pronking can save their lives

because it's a springbok's way of saying

to any animal who wants to eat them,

"There's no point in chasing me.

"I'm too fast and too strong for you."

But it can be fun too.

# Andy's Baby Animals

# Andy's Baby Animals. #

Now let's go over to the deserts of Mongolia.

Springboks aren't the only animals who like to jump.

This crazy little creature is called a jerboa.

He looks a bit made-up, doesn't he?

He has the nose of a pig... ANDY OINKS

..the legs of a kangaroo...

and the ears of a rabbit.

This youngster has come out of his desert burrow to go hunting

for the very first time.

He's searching for insects that come out at night.

But he doesn't just use his eyes.

He's using those giant ears too.

And they're really good at listening.

But having such sensitive hearing can make you a little...

OWL SHRIEKS ..jumpy!

Oh!

It's not surprising, though. OWL SHRIEKS

That's the call of a little owl. OWL SHRIEKS

And they like to eat, you guessed it, jerboas.

Better look for insects somewhere else.

His ears are so big compared to his body,

that if you or I had ears like that,

they would reach all the way down to our tummy button.

As he gets older, he'll use his hearing and jumping together

to catch insects in the air.

But right now, he's happy catching food on the ground.

Jerboas can jump almost as fast as you and I can run.

But you need to be careful when you're bouncing around in the dark.

You wouldn't want to land on those spikes.

Ouch!

All this jumping can tire a little one out.

Time for a rest.

ANDY YAWNS

But with such sensitive ears,

you might be up early. OWL SHRIEKS

# Andy's Baby Animals

# Andy's Baby Animals. #

Next up, Canada.

Lots of animals use jumping to catch food.

One day soon, these arctic fox cubs will be expert hunters.

But for now, they're only a few weeks old

and they rely on Mum and Dad for all their food.

At the moment, the playful cubs have their dark summer fur.

But when the snows of winter arrive,

the Arctic changes from brown to white.

Ah.

And so do the foxes.

White fur on white snow makes the cubs very hard to spot.

And that's important when they're learning to hunt.

This young cub is searching for his favourite food -

a small mouse-like animal called a lemming.

But how do you find an animal only a little bit bigger than a mouse

in all this snow?

Especially when that animal is hiding underneath the snow.

I mean, talk about frozen food!

Luckily, his small, furry ears are very good at hearing.

And his short, stubby nose is very good at smelling.

ANDY SNIFFS

So even though he can't see the lemming,

his ears and nose tell him exactly where it is.

And this is where the jumping comes in.

Oh!

Ah.

By leaping up in the air,

he can crash down on the snow

like a hammer...

..breaking through

to the lemming below.

Whey!

Oh, ow!

He doesn't always get it right...

..but when he does, he's rewarded with a tasty snack.

And with jumping skills like that, our fox cubs will have food

no matter how snowy it gets.

For a springbok calf, a jerboa pup or an arctic fox cub,

learning how to jump is very, very important.

And when this baby is old enough, he'll be jumping just like Mum.

Oh.

See you next time.