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A diagram of altricial and precocial bird species. Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching.
Precocial mammal species generally have greater adult body weights than altricial mammals as precocial mammals have markedly longer gestation periods than altricial mammals. [21] The neonatal of larger mammals develop relatively more quickly and thus making it more likely that a large mammal would produce a more well-developed neonate as a ...
Altricial young (marsupials, rodents) are completely helpless and dependent on their mothers, precocial young (elephants, cattle) have highly developed sensory and motor functions at birth, and primates who are semi-helpless young, have an intermediate level of maturation. This variation in maturation at birth requires different maternal care ...
Capybaras are born precocial, which means that they are able to get up and move around soon after birth. Yes, that includes swimming. ... the guinea pig, capybaras are extremely vocal animals, who ...
In these large animals, the birth process is similar to that of a human, though in most the offspring is precocial. This means that it is born in a more advanced state than a human baby and is able to stand, walk and run (or swim in the case of an aquatic mammal) shortly after birth. [2]
Though early birth puts the tiny newborn marsupial at greater environmental risk, it significantly reduces the dangers associated with long pregnancies, as there is no need to carry a large fetus to a full term in bad seasons. Marsupials are extremely altricial animals, needing to be intensely cared for immediately following birth (cf. precocial).
The term nidifugous is sometimes used synonymously with precocial, as all nidifugous species are precocial. Similarly, all altricial animals are nidicolous by necessity. However, not all precocial birds leave the nest; some may stay at the nest even if they are precocial and fully capable of leaving if needed. [2]
Development at birth varies considerably among animals, and even among mammals. Altricial species are relatively helpless at birth and require considerable parental care and protection. In contrast, precocial animals are born with open eyes, have hair or down, have large brains, and are immediately mobile and somewhat able to flee from, or ...