Drinking 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 better take care

# Andy's baby animals

# If you're a capuchin learning 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 your bed

# Or a meerkat struggling with a sleepy head

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals

# We're growing stronger every day

# Watch and try and laugh and play

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals! #

Hello, I'm Andy, and this is Sam.

Sam is a baby elephant, or calf.

He's almost two years old.

Whether you're a big elephant or a small mouse,

every baby animal needs a drink,

and Sam seems pretty thirsty.

You can see that Sam is using his trunk.

They use their trunks to pick things up.

They also use their trunks to smell,

and greet each other to say hello.

A trunk is just one of the ways baby animals get a drink.

First, the Kalahari Desert in Africa.

Hup, two, three, four!

This lot are baby ostrich chicks.

Even though they're only a few days old, they're already up and about.

Impressive, eh?

Here are Mum and Dad.

Adult ostriches are the biggest birds in the world,

and the heaviest.

Ostriches can't fly,

which is why this lot are dashing around on the ground.

Ooh, running is thirsty work though.

Especially when you live in the Kalahari Desert in Africa -

one of the hottest places on Earth.

And when you're as small as an ostrich chick,

you need to drink every day.

But how do you find water in a desert?

My advice is, when in doubt, follow Mum and Dad.

Um, are you sure you know where you're going?

Searching a desert can be very hot work

and there's no shade around.

Good idea!

Those big wings may not be any good for flying,

but they make a great sunshade for little chicks.

Ostriches also have big eyes,

the biggest of all land animals.

It means they can spot danger a long way off.

And they can spot places to drink.

Like this water hole.

Well done!

Hmm, it looks a bit busy though.

Oh, you don't want to get stepped on,

especially by an elephant.

Not even your mum and dad, the biggest birds in the world,

could chase off this lot.

But I know someone who can.

It's a lioness.

Thanks, Mrs Lion!

Now it's all clear for the little ones to take a dip.

Ah! I'm sure that feels good.

Time for that drink, at last.

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals! #

Now we're over to Kenya.

The young animal that we're meeting here

is a lot bigger than an ostrich chick.

It's a baby elephant, a calf, and she's thirsty too.

Elephants are great at looking out for each other

and no-one is better at taking care of their family

than the oldest female.

She's in charge, so wherever she goes, everyone else goes too.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

She knows that her family like to drink every day,

especially the calves.

So she's leading them to the local river.

There's enough water here for even the biggest family of elephants.

Elephants have a special long nose called a trunk,

which they use to suck up the water and pour it into their mouths.

Hmm, I hope you've blown your nose first!

Drinking with your nose is a lot harder than it looks...

..so very young calves prefer the good old-fashioned method

of drinking with their mouths.

It works while they're still small and close to the ground,

but they need to learn to use their trunk if they want to be

a big grown-up elephant.

Perhaps your older cousin can show you how it's done?

That's it, just pop your trunk in and suck.

Well done!

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals! #

Last stop, Namibia, also in Africa.

It's handy living by a river,

but some baby animals live a very long way away from water,

like this sandgrouse chick.

He and his brothers and sisters live in the middle of the Namib Desert.

Mum is looking after the nest.

She's on duty every single hour of the day,

making sure her newborn chicks are safe.

They're so young, they can barely even walk.

CHICKS CHIRP

And they won't be able to fly for another five weeks...

..which is a problem because they need to drink every day

and the nearest water is a long way away.

What do they do?

Enter Super Dad!

He's in charge of fetching the water.

Every morning, he sets off with all the other dads.

Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!

They have to make a big journey, just to get to a little puddle.

A nice drink for Dad, then.

But how is he going to get the water all the way back to the chicks?

Well, that's why he's Super Dad,

because he's got a special skill.

He's the only bird in the world that can carry water in his feathers.

He just pops his belly into the puddle

and soaks up the water like a giant sponge.

Genius!

The flight home will be hard work with all that water on board though.

Back at the nest, Mum and the chicks are waiting patiently.

Don't worry, guys, here comes Dad!

Giant sponge coming through.

Dad's brought back enough water for each chick to drink their fill.

So even though they're too young to fly,

thanks to Dad's special feathers, these chicks won't go thirsty.

Good job, Dad!

For an ostrich chick, a sandgrouse chick

or a baby elephant like Sam here,

learning to drink is very important.

Are you all right, Sam?

I think he's finished.

See you next time.

Oh, no! He's going again.