My two guinea pigs gave birth a couple of days ago to four of the sweetest babies you've ever seen. It struck me how different a newborn guinea pig is from a newborn red squirrel. Despite them both being small rodents, the young are born at quite different stages of development.
My little piggies, ("pups" I'm informed they are called) came out as complete animals, all covered in fur, open-eyed and ready to go. The newborn squirrel, or "kitten", is at the other end of the scale. Not only are they hairless and blind like mice, but they are also deaf. They are just tiny cocktail sausages, totally reliant on mum for everything.
My latest additions to the family are already eating grass at just two days old! They are of course still drinking mum's milk, but I think they are incredible.
How is it that two such closely related animals have evolved such different strategies for their young? One thought is that, having seen a heavily pregnant guinea pig waddle round the hutch and up and down the ramp, there's no way she'd be able to climb a tree! Perhaps the pressure of need to get out of the way by climbing is enough to offset the vulnerability of the tiny kitten.
