Mammals are warm-blooded creatures that feed their babies
on milk until the young are able to eat solid food. Most are furry
or hairy, unlike all other vertebrates (animals with backbones).
Many eat plants, while others prey on other animals. Some,
like humans, eat both plants and meat.Mammals
ECHIDNA ▶
The echidna and
the equally strange
platypus are the only
mammals that lay
eggs. A baby echidna
lives on milk produced
by its mother for up
to six months. The
mother eats food
such as earthworms,
which she digs
from the ground
with her long snout.54
◀ ELEPHANT
Elephants use their
sensitive trunks
to gather coarse
vegetation, which
they grind to pulp
with their massive
teeth. They are
the biggest land
animals and are
very intelligent.KANGAROO ▶
Marsupials such as
kangaroos give
birth to tiny young
that are only
half-formed. The
newborn crawls
into a pouch on its
mother’s belly to
drink milk and
grow into a fully
developed baby
kangaroo, or joey.▲ BAT
Bats are mammals that can fly. Some eat
fruit, but most species like this long-eared
bat catch insects. They are nocturnal
(active at night) and locate prey in the
dark by emitting high-pitched clicks and
listening for echoes from their target.▲ MOUSE
Nearly half of all mammal species are
rodents – a group that includes mice, rats,
beavers, porcupines, and squirrels. The
house mouse is the only mammal, apart
from humans, to live on every continent.054_055_Mammals.indd 54 03/01/19 12:09 PM