What are baby animals called? This question is usually of interest to children. You can start with domestic animals, or rather, with those you can meet in the village. IN modern world Many people don't know the names of baby sheep, young pigs, goats, cows and turkeys. It's time to find out how and why different children of animals and birds got their names.

What are baby animals called? This question is usually of interest to children.

Sheep, rams and their young

We should start talking about domestic animals and their young with an animal that was one of the first to be domesticated by humans. It's about about sheep and rams. One little sheep could save an entire family. These creatures gave people not only milk and meat, but also warm wool. It should be noted that a young sheep could be used not only as a source of wool, meat and milk, but also as a religious symbol.

It's time to figure out what a baby sheep and ram is called. Sheep and ram are domestic artiodactyl animals that belong to the bovid family. As you might guess, a mature female of this animal is called a sheep, and a male is called a ram. Uninformed in agriculture townspeople often think that these are different animals. Accordingly, various non-existent animals appear, for example, a female ram or a male sheep.

The importance of animal sounds in the development of a preschooler

There are also a number of strange versions about what the baby of these animals is called. Often, as an answer to the question, what is the name of a baby sheep and ram, you can hear different options: little sheep, little sheep, little lamb, etc. Among the strangest names we can also distinguish: ram (for a male) and little sheep (for a female).

All these names do not correspond to the accepted name in Russian for the young animals of these animals. It is important to remember that the offspring of a ram and the baby ewe will have the same name. The only one correct option the name for their young is lamb.

Language experts are confident that the origin of the word meaning little lamb, associated with religious rites. For many peoples, the little sheep was associated with the birth of hope and freedom. Often a small sheep was used as a sacrificial animal.

Thus the word lamb has a very ancient history. According to scientists, Russian name comes from the Latin agnus, from which the Old Slavonic lamb first appeared.

Today the little sheep no longer has this sacred meaning, as the ancient people endowed it. The lamb is considered only as a young domestic animal.

Now we know what a baby sheep is called, and if necessary, we can explain why it was called that. From now on, the question of who the lamb’s mother is will no longer be perplexing.

It is worth noting that there is a special designation for sheep that have left the most tender age, but have not yet reached marriageable age. Thus, a young sheep, already adult, but not yet capable of procreation, has special name. You can often hear the strange word yarka in the speech of farmers. This is what a young sheep that has not yet produced offspring is called.

Wild goats: species, habitats and lifestyle

Animals and their babies (video)

Pigs and their offspring

Pigs, like sheep, were domesticated by humans at the very beginning of human history. These animals belong to the order Artiodactyls. Pigs provide humans with meat, lard, skin and stubble. This is why they are bred on farms.

A male pig is called a boar, a boar, a hog, a female is a pig, a sow. Baby pigs are called piglets. We need to figure out why the parents and the baby have such different names.

As already mentioned, pigs were domesticated by humans in ancient times. Back then people preferred in different words denote male and female animals.

The common word pig is cognate with the German Schwein, the English swine and the Latin suinus. Apparently, in the ancient Indo-European language it meant the female of this animal, bearing offspring. So the male form would be the pig. The word comes from the Indo-European sus - pig.


Pigs, like sheep, were domesticated by humans at the very beginning of human history.

But in ancient times the boar was called differently. In the Proto-Slavic language, linguists restored the form porse for it, in Latin - porsus. The ancient Slavs called a male pig poros. This is where the word pig comes from. As is easy to see, it is formed using the suffix -enok, which means a small creature.

Initially, only male babies were called piglets. Gradually the name spread to all children of the pig.

By the way, the process of the birth of cubs is called farrowing, and a pregnant pig is called pregnant, that is, having been under litter. So even ours modern language preserves the ancient names of animals.

Funny animal echidna: description, lifestyle in nature

Cow, bull and calf

The cow, like the sheep and pig, was domesticated in ancient times. This animal gives people milk and meat. Her skin is also used.

A male cow is called a bull. And the baby cow is a calf. The names bull and heifer are also acceptable. They point to different gender young animals

It is worth understanding why again parents and their young have names that come from different roots.

The word “cow” itself comes from the same stem as the Latin cornu, meaning horn. Thus, it is a horned animal.

The origin of the word “calf” is still controversial among experts. The most common version says that in ancient times the word meant “worn out.”

Goat, goat and kid

Another domestic animal often found on farms is the goat. These artiodactyls provide humans with more than just milk from which cheese is made. Depending on the breed, in addition to milk and meat, they also produce skins, wool and fluff.

I must say that there are significantly fewer problems with naming a child a goat. The male of this animal is a goat, the female is a goat. And even the smallest children, thanks to fairy tales and cartoons, know that a baby goat is a kid. As you can see, the already familiar suffix is ​​again involved in the formation of the cub’s name.

Sometimes non-specialists call baby goats lambs. This is absolutely false. As is already clear, each domestic animal has its own name for its children: a sheep has a lamb, a goat has a kid.

On the eve of Mother's Day, which in many countries around the world is celebrated on the second Sunday of May, here is a selection of photographs of animals and their babies taken over the past few months.

1. An Indian calf, who was born at the Oklahoma City Zoo, stands next to his mother, 16-year-old elephant Asha, in Oklahoma City. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

2. A goose leads her goslings that hatched in a cemetery in Buffalo, New York. (Michael Mandolfo/AP)

3. Twin bear cubs Aleut and Gregor play on fresh air under the care of his mother, the polar bear Vera, in the enclosure of the Nuremberg Zoo in Nuremberg, Germany. (Hans-martin Issler/Getty Images Contributor)

4. A Scottish Highland cow and her calf stand in a pasture in Bozeman, Montana. Representatives of this large species cattle significantly different from typical Angus cows - they are smaller and have a slower metabolism. (Erik Petersen/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP)

5. Kamchatka brown bear Masha and her 3-month-old cubs Vanya and Misha live at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany. (Fabian Bimmer/Reuters)

6. Gorilla Dian holds her baby Kembo at a zoo in Frankfurt in western Germany. (Frank Rumpenhorst/AFP - Getty Images)

7. A ewe feeds her less than a week old lamb in Clinton, Wisconsin. (Bill Olmstead/The Janesville Gazette via AP)

8. A female lemur sits with her cub at a zoo in Chorzow, Poland. (Andrzej Grygiel/EPA)

9. Twin bear cubs Aleut and Gregor play in the water next to their mother Vera at a zoo in Nuremberg, Germany. (Daniel Karmann/EPA)

10. A baby black rhinoceros cuddles up to its mother Katie Rain in an enclosure in St. Louis. (St. Louis Zoo/AFP - Getty Images)

11. A baby clings to its mother at a zoo in Tanjung Hanau, Indonesia. (Dita Alangkara/AP)

12. A newborn lizard cub sits on its mother's back in a cage in Bangkok, Thailand. (Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)

13. A 2-month-old giraffe calf walks with his mother Kabonga in the enclosure of the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich, Germany. (Michael Dalder/Reuters)

14. Killer whale Vicky swims with her calf at the Marineland water park in Antibes in southeastern France. (Eric Gaillard/Reuters)

15. A cow licks her calf, which was born an hour ago on a ranch near Oakland, California. (Robin Loznak/Zuma Press)

16. Lioness Binta walks with her lion cub in the enclosure of the zoo in Hannover in northern Germany. (Julian Stratenschulte / AFP - Getty Images)

A newly hatched gosling yawns while nestled in the feathers of one of its parents near a pond in Roseburg, Oregon. Canada geese are monogamous birds and most pairs remain together for life. (Robin Loznak / Robin Loznak for msnbc.com)

18. A baby jaguar plays with its mother, Rosa Salvaje (Wild Rose), at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua. (Esteban Felix/AP)

19. A baby tawny wallaby peeks out of its pouch at the Vogelpark Marlow zoo in Marlow, eastern Germany. (Bernd Wuestneck/AFP - Getty Images)

20. Newborn lambs walk for the first time in a field at Barracks Farm in Fetcham, England. The farm, where 300 ewes lambed, is owned by the Conisbee family, who raise lamb for their chain of butchers near Horsley. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

21. A baby boar stands next to its mother in a deer reserve in Klaistow in eastern Germany. After three to four months, the characteristic red stripes disappear, and the skin of the wild boar acquires a brown color. (Patrick Pleul/AFP - Getty Images)

22. A chimpanzee born six days ago cuddles up with its mother Usha at the Bratislava Zoo in Slovakia. (Samuel Kubani/AFP - Getty Images)

23. Piglets walk around a pen on a farm in Langenhorn, Germany. (Joern Pollex/Getty Images)

24. Lioness Sofia holds one of her 3-month-old cubs in her teeth in the enclosure of the zoo in Buenos Aires. (Enrique Marcarian / Reuters)

25. Polar bear Malik swims for the first time in a pond with her four-month-old cub at the zoo in Aalborg, Denmark. (Enrique Marcarian / Reuters)

What are baby animals called? This question is usually of interest to children. You can start with domestic animals, or rather, with those you can meet in the village. In the modern world, many people do not know the names of baby sheep, young pigs, goats, cows and turkeys. It's time to find out how and why different children of animals and birds got their names.

What are baby animals called? This question is usually of interest to children.

Sheep, rams and their young

We should start talking about domestic animals and their young with an animal that was one of the first to be domesticated by humans. We are talking about sheep and rams. One little sheep could save an entire family. These creatures gave people not only milk and meat, but also warm wool. It should be noted that a young sheep could be used not only as a source of wool, meat and milk, but also as a religious symbol.

It's time to figure out what a baby sheep and ram is called. Sheep and ram are domestic artiodactyl animals that belong to the bovid family. As you might guess, a mature female of this animal is called a sheep, and a male is called a ram. City dwellers ignorant of agriculture often think that these are different animals. Accordingly, various non-existent animals appear, for example, a female ram or a male sheep.

Who hasn’t been moved by looking at photographs depicting animals and their young! And it’s quite interesting to watch these relationships. And how many wonderful books and wonderful films are devoted to this topic!

People are also animals. And their cubs - human babies and animals - naturally have many similarities. They are equally clumsy in infancy, defenseless and therefore very dependent on adults. Animals and their young are somewhat reminiscent of homosapiens. This is what touches people who observe the relationship between adult animals and birds and their offspring.

For example, a mother bear can catch and spank a naughty baby on the bottom. And an adult lion will lie patiently while its offspring impudently pulls it by the tail, only moving its ears disgruntledly from time to time - just like a dad coming home from work! True, dads don’t have tails, and they don’t always know how to move their ears... But the very expressions on people’s faces and the faces of adult animals at a time when kids can be very annoying are extremely similar.

And how funny they are in their curiosity. Photos of baby animals with eyes sparkling with interest, fluffy fur and a trustingly extended nose towards the camera simply cannot help but evoke a smile. For example, little raccoons are incredibly impudent, inquisitive and completely devoid of fear of people. They willingly get closer to the person they are interested in, for which they pay: some with their lives, and others with freedom. Indeed, animals and their young are sometimes very reminiscent of people...

An instinct to envy

People who study fauna and have been observing it for many years will say with confidence that wild animals and their young are related to each other true love, there is tenderness between them, and the care of the mother, be it an elephant or a bear, a mouse or a bird, is worthy of the highest praise. It is known that “wild” animal parents are even capable of self-sacrifice to save their offspring.

And so it is. But only until the cubs are under parental care. As soon as the animal becomes sexually mature, care and guardianship comes to an end. Although those animals that live in large families - herds, flocks, packs - do not break off ties, their relationships move to new level. In animal communities, teenagers often begin to take care of the youngest, and adults, even those who are childless, protect all children, regardless of their relationship, on an equal basis with their parents.

Experts in animal relations tell a lot of amazing things about what they know and what they have seen with their own eyes. For example, in one of the lean years, the number of rodents in one of the forests greatly decreased. The fox, who raised her offspring, was already preparing to become a mother again. Her grown daughter remained in the same forest, where she comfortably settled down in her home not far from her native hole. There she gave birth to her cute furry foxes.

However, the grandmother, the mother of the fox, who had already given birth to her own children, was very worried about her future offspring: two complete families would not be able to feed themselves this year! And highly developed maternal instinct pushed her to commit a crime. Having climbed into the hole with her grandchildren, the fox killed them all. So she took care of food for her future children.

Something similar is observed in a colony of meerkats, which unites two or three family groups. Matriarchy reigns in society, with one dominant female ruling. It is she who is allowed to bear offspring, which are looked after by the entire colony. And if suddenly some other female dares to break this law and become pregnant, then she is severely punished by expulsion. In the event that the offender has already managed to bring unwanted offspring, the dominant female kills the babies. And the fact that her own daughter may be the culprit is not a mitigating factor.

Animals living near humans

Of course, watch wild animals quite difficult and not accessible to everyone. But domestic animals and their cubs living next to a person can teach a person a lot.

Cat people will foam at the mouth to prove that the most caring mother you can call it a cat. Dog lovers will argue with them: there is nothing better than a dog! Both are absolutely right. In fact, in almost all animals the instinct of motherhood and protection of offspring is very highly developed. There's just one difference between wild fauna And

If in nature males take an active part in raising offspring and protecting them, then domestic animals and their young are completely dependent on humans. Therefore, “dads” often don’t even know that they have children, much less help the mother in raising and protecting the kids. They are not even given the opportunity to choose their own mate for reproduction. People thus violate the laws of nature, forcing their pets to live by the rules imposed on them...

Feeding offspring with animals

Interfering with laws often deprives cows, goats, camels, and sometimes even sheep of the maternity rights. After all, the milk that these animals provide is excellent food for people. Therefore, the owner immediately after birth takes the offspring from the mother and feeds it by hand, diluting the mother’s milk with water, including complementary feeding. The mother herself is actively being milked, not allowing her to feed her baby. After all, once she has fed, the female will not give even the milk remaining after feeding the cub to the milkman, and her udder will produce exactly as much milk as is required to feed the baby.

Baby animals are cute and funny. Even though they are still very tiny, they are already small copies of their moms and dads. From the first weeks of life, baby animals imitate their adult relatives and try to repeat their habits in everything. Looking at these innocent kids, it’s hard to imagine that some of them will turn into... dangerous predators, and someone will be a giant weighing several tons. They are all small and touching.


1.

The baby Arctic fox calls his mother. The animals are under threat as their valuable fur makes them targets for poachers and hunters.


2.

The plover is a small bird that lives in shallow water. To protect her babies from dangers and troubles, she hides them, allowing them to hide in her plumage.



3.

Swans are considered one of the most caring and reverent parents. They protect their offspring and, if necessary, carry them on their backs.


4.

Pine marten calf. This cute baby will turn into a cunning and insidious predator, capable of sneaking through the smallest holes.


5.

Curious little fox. It is interesting that foxes, despite stereotypes about cunning and meanness, are very loyal animals. Once they form a couple, they remain faithful throughout their lives.



6.

Playful monkeys, just like human babies, are able to play in groups, inventing entertainment for themselves.


7.

A baby rhino kisses its mother. Each of the five species of these unique animals is listed in the Red Book. Despite the fact that rhinoceroses seem very clumsy and slow, they are capable of reaching speeds of over 40 km/h, and in water they are even more agile than on land.



8.

Baby crocodiles rest with their mother. Crocodiles are one of the oldest animals on Earth. These animals owe such vitality to special mechanisms of the body. For example, crocodile teeth can grow in the same place up to 100 times; the animal’s blood contains antibiotics that protect them from infectious diseases etc.



9.

Cubs polar bear together with mom. At birth, these babies weighed a little more than 500 grams, although adults are considered the largest land predators.



10.

Baby bison with mom. It is good that today the number of these animals is increasing again, and there is an assumption that soon there will be as many of them as there were before the settlement of America by Europeans.



11.

A baby zebra with its mother. By the way, if you don’t already know, a zebra is white with black stripes, and not vice versa.



12.

Cute baby cat kissing its mom. Despite the fact that cats are very touching creatures, they are the only pets not mentioned in the Bible.



13.

Baby penguin. These are the only birds that swim, but cannot fly, although this does not prevent them from jumping to a height of more than one and a half meters.



14.

Baby hippopotamus. The babies of this animal are born under water.



15.

Baby kangaroo in mom's pouch. It is interesting that while the mother kangaroo is raising the baby, she is carrying a second one in her pouch, and at the same time is expecting a third one.



16.

Otters are powerful and strong animals, they are incredibly smart and clean. Animals always clear the territory on which they are going to settle.



17.

Many people mistakenly think that the heart rate of an animal depends on its size, but nevertheless, the giraffe’s heart beats at a speed of 170 beats per minute (for comparison, a person’s speed is 60-80 beats).



18.

Despite the fact that meerkats are wild animals, many aborigines keep the animals at home so that they protect their farms from mice and snakes.



19.

This tiny calf will grow into a large adult weighing up to 400 kg. Despite large dimensions, these animals are able to reach speeds of up to 55 km/h and swim up to 10 km/h.



20.

Little walrus and his mother. Adults most They spend their lives in water, and under water they are able to hold their breath for up to 10 minutes.



21.

IN wildlife There are only about 1,600 pandas left, and killing this animal is punishable in China death penalty, although it is impossible to imagine how one could offend such a sweet creature.



22.

A cheetah cub licks its mother. This baby is still very small, but in just two years he will be able to reach speeds of up to 113 km/h.



23.

A little turtle runs to the water. Adult females leave eggs in the sand, and the babies, after hatching, strive for water. By the way, turtles have inhabited our planet for more than 70 million years.



24.

This baby raccoon, like most of his relatives, is not at all afraid of people. Raccoons are generally quite arrogant animals that, in places of abundant habitat, can enter houses and steal food.



25.

Lambs fight each other on their mother's back. Rams and sheep are very smart and careful animals. They all know their shepherd exactly and treat him as a leader. So, in winter cold weather a flock of sheep surrounds the shepherd in a tight ring, thus keeping warm, but if the shepherd decides to sit or lie down, the animals will disperse and there is a possibility that they will freeze in the cold.



26.

Little cute lemur. Lemurs live in only two regions of the planet - Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. Despite the fact that there are no dangerous predators threatening the animals, they are endangered by humans.