Hitching a Ride 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 cub then you 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 every day

# Watch them trying to learn and play

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals. #

There we go.

Hello. I'm Andy.

And this is a whole troop of lemurs.

They're ring-tailed lemurs, one of my favourite animals.

They're very much like us.

They have five toes with fingernails on them as well,

which help them climb the trees

and, more importantly, climb onto Mum's back.

Can you see the babies right there?

Let's see how these baby lemurs get on in the wild.

So, first, we're off to Madagascar.

In the wild, lemurs enjoy a spot of sunbathing,

soaking up the warmth on their tummies.

Ah, lovely.

But life's not one long holiday for lemurs.

They've got places to go.

They're super climbers, even on cliffs.

Look at them go.

No ropes or helmets in sight.

Just those fantastic gripping hands and feet.

And the first thing they learn to cling to...

is Mum.

Baby lemurs get a piggyback from Mum until they're four months old.

It means she can keep an eye on them.

And they can see what Mum's up to as well.

A lemur family is called a troop.

And the boss is always one of the mums.

What she says goes.

But just because she's the boss, she doesn't stop being a mum...

..even when she's got twins to carry.

She's Supermum!

And her back is the best place to be.

Supermum takes her babies to the best restaurants,

and the rest of the family too.

But she's also on the lookout for danger

because this is a special fruit.

What's that? What's that?

For lemurs, this fruit is as yummy as the best cake in the world...

..so other lemurs want to barge in and eat here too.

Keep your eyes peeled, Mum.

It's easy to chase off one invader.

But if a bigger troop come along, Supermum likes to play it safe.

And when she leads her troop to safety,

where do you think her babies are?

On her back, of course.

Hold tight, kids.

What a ride!

And what a mum.

She's led her troop well,

and she's kept her twins safe.

Thanks, Mum.

What a super mum she is.

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals. #

It's over to Australia next.

The most comfy place to hitch a ride is in a special holdall

called a pouch.

G'day.

And kangaroo mums have one each.

It's like a built-in baby carrier.

I love kangaroos.

They've got those fantastic back legs.

They're huge and they bend the wrong way.

That's what makes them really good at hopping.

Hop. Hop.

Hop.

It's a really good way to get around.

And kangaroos need to be good at that because they live in Australia

and Australia is huge.

Kangaroos are easily the biggest animals to get around by hopping.

They don't just use those wacky legs.

Without those tails, they'd be falling all over the place.

Kangaroo babies are called joeys.

Really. All of them.

Not Tom or Dave or Peter.

Joey.

As soon as they're born,

the joeys climb into Mum's pouch so they can grow bigger.

But kangaroos aren't the only animals with a pouch.

This is a wombat.

She's got one.

And the honey possum.

They're only half as big as a mouse, but they still have a pouch.

And koalas.

They've got one too.

Lots of people call them koala bears, but they're not bears.

All these animals are called marsupials.

Marsupials are the only animals to have a pouch,

and the best known of all is the big, hopping kangaroo.

Hang on!

Kangaroos jump everywhere.

"So why don't the babies jump out?" I hear you ask.

Well, it's because mum has a special muscle that keeps her pouch shut

and her joeys safe.

So it's a bit like a seatbelt, really.

A pouch may be really comfortable

but getting out takes a bit of practice.

There you go.

Oops. Oh, be careful.

This joey is not very fast now

but when it's bigger it will be faster than an Olympic sprinter.

Oi, watch out!

And it'll be able to leap really high.

How high? Well, if we were playing football,

it would be able to jump right over the goal.

Oops. Keep practising.

But while it's still small, it'll stay near Mum,

because the really great thing about her pouch is you can hop back in

whenever you get too tired from all that hopping around.

Ah, thanks, Mum.

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals. #

Now let's fly over to Central America.

Even really tiny babies hitch a ride with Mum or Dad.

This beautiful-looking creature is a strawberry poison-dart frog.

She lives in the jungle.

But she's red,

leaves are green.

How does she hide?

She doesn't. She's poisonous.

That red skin is saying, "Oi, don't eat me, I don't taste nice."

She's one of the smallest frogs in the world,

about as big as a fingernail.

And that's just the Mum.

This is her baby.

Minute.

Frog babies are tadpoles.

When hers are about two weeks old,

they go on an epic journey on Mum's back.

So she can take them, one at a time, to a new home.

And do you know what she's looking for?

It's not a river,

it's a swimming pool high up in the trees.

Amazing, isn't it?

You see, tadpoles need water to grow up in.

Luckily, there's loads of water in a rainforest,

even at the top of the trees.

Each tadpole gets a swimming pool to itself.

But Mum can't hang around to play,

she's off to pick up another baby.

Ah, the water's great.

But where's the food?

Hey, Mum, I think your tadpole's getting a bit hungry.

Don't worry, she brings a packed lunch every day.

It's like climbing a mountain just to take care of her babies.

For tadpoles, kangaroo joeys and baby lemurs,

learning to hitch a ride with Mum and Dad is all a part

of growing up in the wild.

Right, would anyone like to give me a piggyback?

No? OK.

See you next time.