0:00:02 > 0:00:03# Andy's baby animals
0:00:03 > 0:00:06# If you're a polar bear and you're going somewhere
0:00:06 > 0:00:07# Andy's baby animals
0:00:07 > 0:00:10# Or an elephant cub then you better take care
0:00:10 > 0:00:12# Andy's baby animals
0:00:12 > 0:00:14# If you're a capuchin learning how to eat
0:00:14 > 0:00:17# An ostrich chick trying to beat a retreat
0:00:17 > 0:00:19# Andy's baby animals
0:00:19 > 0:00:20# Andy's baby animals
0:00:20 > 0:00:23# If you're a black bear looking for a tree to climb
0:00:23 > 0:00:25# Andy's baby animals
0:00:25 > 0:00:27# Or a penguin chasing Mum at breakfast time
0:00:27 > 0:00:29# Andy's baby animals
0:00:29 > 0:00:31# An orang-utan trying to make a bed
0:00:31 > 0:00:34# Or a meerkat struggling with a sleepy head
0:00:34 > 0:00:36# Andy's baby animals
0:00:36 > 0:00:37# Andy's baby animals
0:00:37 > 0:00:39# We're growing stronger every day
0:00:39 > 0:00:42# Watch them trying to learn and play
0:00:42 > 0:00:44# Andy's baby animals
0:00:44 > 0:00:46# Andy's baby animals. #
0:00:49 > 0:00:50There we go.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Hello. I'm Andy.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55And this is a whole troop of lemurs.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58They're ring-tailed lemurs, one of my favourite animals.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00They're very much like us.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03They have five toes with fingernails on them as well,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05which help them climb the trees
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and, more importantly, climb onto Mum's back.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Can you see the babies right there?
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Let's see how these baby lemurs get on in the wild.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17So, first, we're off to Madagascar.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23In the wild, lemurs enjoy a spot of sunbathing,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26soaking up the warmth on their tummies.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Ah, lovely.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32But life's not one long holiday for lemurs.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35They've got places to go.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39They're super climbers, even on cliffs.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Look at them go.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45No ropes or helmets in sight.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Just those fantastic gripping hands and feet.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52And the first thing they learn to cling to...
0:01:52 > 0:01:54is Mum.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00Baby lemurs get a piggyback from Mum until they're four months old.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03It means she can keep an eye on them.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06And they can see what Mum's up to as well.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13A lemur family is called a troop.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17And the boss is always one of the mums.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20What she says goes.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24But just because she's the boss, she doesn't stop being a mum...
0:02:26 > 0:02:29..even when she's got twins to carry.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33She's Supermum!
0:02:36 > 0:02:39And her back is the best place to be.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Supermum takes her babies to the best restaurants,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and the rest of the family too.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51But she's also on the lookout for danger
0:02:51 > 0:02:54because this is a special fruit.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57What's that? What's that?
0:02:58 > 0:03:03For lemurs, this fruit is as yummy as the best cake in the world...
0:03:04 > 0:03:08..so other lemurs want to barge in and eat here too.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Keep your eyes peeled, Mum.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15It's easy to chase off one invader.
0:03:18 > 0:03:24But if a bigger troop come along, Supermum likes to play it safe.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27And when she leads her troop to safety,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29where do you think her babies are?
0:03:29 > 0:03:31On her back, of course.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Hold tight, kids.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34What a ride!
0:03:36 > 0:03:38And what a mum.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42She's led her troop well,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and she's kept her twins safe.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Thanks, Mum.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49What a super mum she is.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52# Andy's baby animals
0:03:52 > 0:03:55# Andy's baby animals. #
0:03:55 > 0:03:58It's over to Australia next.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03The most comfy place to hitch a ride is in a special holdall
0:04:03 > 0:04:06called a pouch.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08G'day.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11And kangaroo mums have one each.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13It's like a built-in baby carrier.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17I love kangaroos.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20They've got those fantastic back legs.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23They're huge and they bend the wrong way.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28That's what makes them really good at hopping.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Hop. Hop.
0:04:31 > 0:04:32Hop.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35It's a really good way to get around.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39And kangaroos need to be good at that because they live in Australia
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and Australia is huge.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Kangaroos are easily the biggest animals to get around by hopping.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52They don't just use those wacky legs.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Without those tails, they'd be falling all over the place.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Kangaroo babies are called joeys.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Really. All of them.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Not Tom or Dave or Peter.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Joey.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18As soon as they're born,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22the joeys climb into Mum's pouch so they can grow bigger.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26But kangaroos aren't the only animals with a pouch.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28This is a wombat.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30She's got one.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32And the honey possum.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35They're only half as big as a mouse, but they still have a pouch.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38And koalas.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40They've got one too.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Lots of people call them koala bears, but they're not bears.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48All these animals are called marsupials.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Marsupials are the only animals to have a pouch,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58and the best known of all is the big, hopping kangaroo.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Hang on!
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Kangaroos jump everywhere.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07"So why don't the babies jump out?" I hear you ask.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13Well, it's because mum has a special muscle that keeps her pouch shut
0:06:13 > 0:06:14and her joeys safe.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17So it's a bit like a seatbelt, really.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21A pouch may be really comfortable
0:06:21 > 0:06:25but getting out takes a bit of practice.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30There you go.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Oops. Oh, be careful.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39This joey is not very fast now
0:06:39 > 0:06:44but when it's bigger it will be faster than an Olympic sprinter.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Oi, watch out!
0:06:51 > 0:06:54And it'll be able to leap really high.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58How high? Well, if we were playing football,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01it would be able to jump right over the goal.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Oops. Keep practising.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09But while it's still small, it'll stay near Mum,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13because the really great thing about her pouch is you can hop back in
0:07:13 > 0:07:16whenever you get too tired from all that hopping around.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Ah, thanks, Mum.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22# Andy's baby animals
0:07:22 > 0:07:25# Andy's baby animals. #
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Now let's fly over to Central America.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Even really tiny babies hitch a ride with Mum or Dad.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38This beautiful-looking creature is a strawberry poison-dart frog.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42She lives in the jungle.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45But she's red,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47leaves are green.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49How does she hide?
0:07:49 > 0:07:52She doesn't. She's poisonous.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57That red skin is saying, "Oi, don't eat me, I don't taste nice."
0:07:59 > 0:08:02She's one of the smallest frogs in the world,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04about as big as a fingernail.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06And that's just the Mum.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08This is her baby.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Minute.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Frog babies are tadpoles.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18When hers are about two weeks old,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21they go on an epic journey on Mum's back.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27So she can take them, one at a time, to a new home.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31And do you know what she's looking for?
0:08:31 > 0:08:33It's not a river,
0:08:33 > 0:08:38it's a swimming pool high up in the trees.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Amazing, isn't it?
0:08:42 > 0:08:46You see, tadpoles need water to grow up in.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Luckily, there's loads of water in a rainforest,
0:08:50 > 0:08:52even at the top of the trees.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Each tadpole gets a swimming pool to itself.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01But Mum can't hang around to play,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03she's off to pick up another baby.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Ah, the water's great.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09But where's the food?
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Hey, Mum, I think your tadpole's getting a bit hungry.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18Don't worry, she brings a packed lunch every day.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23It's like climbing a mountain just to take care of her babies.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29For tadpoles, kangaroo joeys and baby lemurs,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32learning to hitch a ride with Mum and Dad is all a part
0:09:32 > 0:09:35of growing up in the wild.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Right, would anyone like to give me a piggyback?
0:09:37 > 0:09:39No? OK.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41See you next time.