Who looks after a baby animal? Parents do it in very different ways.

An emperor penguin dad keeps the egg warm on top of his feet, tucked under a fold of belly skin. While the dads keep the eggs warm, the moms go to sea to feed on fish.

For the first weeks, an emperor penguin chick stays on its parent's feet, under a warm flap of belly skin.

A newborn panda is pink, blind and the size of a stick of butter. Its mother holds it close to her chest. For the first weeks, she will not leave it, even to eat or drink. Its eyes open at about six to eight weeks old.

Wolf pups are born blind and deaf, and they weigh about a pound. They depend on their mother for warmth. A pup's eyes open at about two weeks old, but at first it can only crawl. Pups stay in the den for several weeks and first come out at about three weeks old.

A black bear cub is born in the den in the middle of winter, while its mother is asleep there. It weighs less than a pound. The cubs drink their mother's milk all winter. By spring, they weigh about 5 to 7 pounds.

A blue whale calf drinks very rich milk, and it can gain well over 100 pounds in a day. A humpback whale calf stays close to its mother for about a year. Then it is weaned and goes off on its own.

A giraffe mother gives birth standing up. Her newborn calf falls to the ground. Within an hour, it is on its feet, and often running.

Some babies need little feeding at first. Tadpoles eat a lot, and many graze on algae. A newly hatched chick can live on the yolk it took in before hatching. It does not need to be fed for the first few days.

A mother sea turtle comes ashore at night. She digs a nest in the sand, lays her eggs, covers them and goes back to the sea. A baby sea turtle comes out of an egg buried in the sand. Then it crawls across the beach to the sea.

Words to know

• weaned: no more milk
• yolk: egg food
• algae: water plants
• den: animal home