Is it easy to be a mom?

There are all kinds of mothers in the world. Some mothers have millions of children but hardly take care of them. Other mothers, on the contrary, work a lot taking care of their offspring, especially in the first and most vulnerable moments of their lives.  

Many species of insects, fish, reptiles and amphibians follow the principle “More kids, less troubles”. The main concern of such mothers is to lay millions of eggs, making minimum efforts to actually raise their offspring.

Females of the southern brown kiwi developed a special strategy: their chicks are independent from the beginning of their life. However, a formed egg weighs up to ¼ of a mother’s weight taking so much space that a bird stops eating. Female mammals give birth to their babies in different ways: lying, sitting, standing and even upside down. Perhaps, female bears have the most pleasant and comfortable way of giving birth, in their sleep.  

How do mothers carry their babies in wild nature? The art works of the prominent animal artist V. A. Vatagin illustrate the most unusual ways of carrying different babies.

Newborn babies and cubs of highly organized animals need warmth and affection as much as water and food. The experiments of American psychologist Harry Frederick Harlow proved this thesis. The sculptures created by V.A. Vatagin, A.M. Belashov, A.V. Marts and M.G. Ostrovskaya depicted wonderful moments of maternal affection and tenderness in wild nature.

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