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Live-bearing animals

Live-bearing animals develop inside their mothers and are born alive. The amount of care they receive after birth varies greatly. Mammal young are fed with milk.

Which animals give birth to live young?

Most mammals do, including bears, wolves, elephants, dolphins, horses, cats, dogs, lions, tigers, whales and rhinoceroses. Platypuses and echidnas are exceptions because they lay eggs.

A

An aardvark walking across sandy ground

AardvarkOrycteropus afer

African wild dogLycaon pictus

alpaca

AlpacaVicugna pacos

Black-furred American black bear walking among moss-covered rocks

American black bearUrsus americanus

anteater

AnteaterVermilingua

antelope

AntelopeBovidae (antelope groups)

arctic fox

Arctic foxVulpes lagopus

arctic hare

Arctic hareLepus arcticus

arctic wolf

Arctic wolfCanis lupus arctos

armadillo

ArmadilloCingulata

aye-aye

Aye-ayeDaubentonia madagascariensis

B

baboon

badger

BadgerMeles; Taxidea; Mellivora

Common wombat seen from the side with its face turned towards the camera

Bare-nosed wombatVombatus ursinus

bat

bear

beaver

BeaverCastor fiber; Castor canadensis

Beluga whale facing the camera underwater, showing its rounded forehead and pectoral flippers

Beluga whaleDelphinapterus leucas

bengal fox

Bengal foxVulpes bengalensis

bengal tiger

Bengal tigerPanthera tigris

bison

BisonBison bison; Bison bonasus

black panther

Black pantherPanthera pardus or Panthera onca (melanistic individuals)

blanford's fox

Blanford’s foxVulpes cana

blue whale

Blue whaleBalaenoptera musculus

Young black-furred bonobo with large eyes resting against its mother in the forest

BonoboPan paniscus

brown bear

Brown bearUrsus arctos

buffalo

BuffaloBubalus; Syncerus

C

camel

cape fox

Cape foxVulpes chama

Capuchin monkey with brown fur and a black cap holding food in its hands

Capuchin monkeyCebinae

Capybara with brown fur and a broad muzzle

CapybaraHydrochoerus hydrochaeris

Caracal with reddish fur and long black tufts at the tips of its ears

CaracalCaracal caracal

carpathian red deer

Carpathian red deerCervus elaphus

cat

chamois

ChamoisRupicapra rupicapra

cheetah

CheetahAcinonyx jubatus

chimpanzee

ChimpanzeePan troglodytes

A grey chinchilla with rounded ears, dark eyes and long whiskers

ChinchillaChinchilla spp.

Nasua nasua coati with its long snout near the ground and ringed tail raised

Brown common degu with rounded ears and a tufted tail standing on a branch

Common deguOctodon degus

Coiled European adder among grasses, showing its zigzag pattern

Common European adderVipera berus

corsac fox

Corsac foxVulpes corsac

cougar

CougarPuma concolor

cow

CowBos taurus (domestic cattle)

coyote

CoyoteCanis latrans

coypu

CoypuMyocastor coypus

Crested porcupines (Hystrix cristata) resting on the ground

Crested porcupineHystrix cristata

culpeo

CulpeoLycalopex culpaeus

D

deer

dingo

DingoCanis familiaris (dingo); taxonomic treatment varies

dog

DogCanis lupus familiaris

dolphin

DolphinDelphinidae and several river-dolphin lineages

domestic sheep

Domestic sheepOvis aries

donkey

DonkeyEquus africanus asinus

dromedary

DromedaryCamelus dromedarius

Grey dugong with a downturned muzzle in the Red Sea near Marsa Alam, Egypt

DugongDugong dugon

E

Grey edible dormouse with large black eyes and a bushy tail on a branch with red berries

Edible dormouseGlis glis

elephant

ElephantLoxodonta africana; Loxodonta cyclotis; Elephas maximus

Male elephant seal with a large inflated nose raised on a beach near females and pups

Elephant sealMirounga

european bison

European bisonBison bonasus

european hamster

European hamsterCricetus cricetus

european hare

European hareLepus europaeus

F

Male fallow deer with a white-spotted reddish coat and broad antlers on grass

Fallow deerDama dama

fennec fox

Fennec foxVulpes zerda

Grey flying squirrel with large dark eyes on a piece of wood

Flying squirrelPteromyini

A fossa at Bioparc Valencia, photographed by Ran Kirlian

FossaCryptoprocta ferox

G

Slender light-brown gazelle with a white belly and ringed horns among grasses

Giant oceanic manta ray seen from the front and side in blue water with broad fins spread

Giant oceanic manta rayMobula birostris

giant panda

Giant pandaAiluropoda melanoleuca

giraffe

GiraffeGiraffa spp.

goat

GoatCapra aegagrus hircus

gorilla

GorillaGorilla spp.

ground squirrel

Ground squirrelSpermophilus citellus

A short-haired guinea pig with a rounded muzzle and small folded ears

Guinea pigCavia porcellus

Male guppy with blue-green markings and a patterned yellow tail among aquatic plants

GuppyPoecilia reticulata

H

hammerhead shark

Hammerhead sharkSphyrnidae

hamster

HamsterCricetinae

Grey harbour porpoise with a short snout and small triangular dorsal fin swimming in greenish water

Harbour porpoisePhocoena phocoena

hedgehog

HedgehogErinaceinae

hippopotamus

HippopotamusHippopotamus amphibius

horse

HorseEquus ferus caballus

Black-furred howler monkey walking along a branch among leaves

Howler monkeyAlouatta

humpback whale

Humpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliae

hyena

I

impala

ImpalaAepyceros melampus

indochinese tiger

Indochinese tigerPanthera tigris

An indri in Andasibe-Mantadia, photographed by Christophe Germain

IndriIndri indri

J

jackal

JackalCanis and Lupulella

jaguar

JaguarPanthera onca

K

kangaroo

KangarooMacropodidae

kit fox

Kit foxVulpes macrotis

koala

KoalaPhascolarctos cinereus

L

Black and yellow-brown Norway lemming crouching on a lichen-covered rock

lemur

LemurLemuriformes (several families)

leopard

LeopardPanthera pardus

lion

LionPanthera leo

llama

LlamaLama glama

Yellow-and-black lowland streaked tenrec, photographed by Bernard DUPONT

Lowland streaked tenrecHemicentetes semispinosus

lynx

M

Barbary macaque with yellowish-brown fur sitting on a rock

malayan tiger

Malayan tigerPanthera tigris

mandrill

MandrillMandrillus sphinx

Common marmoset with a dark face and white ear tufts

MarmosetCallithrix

marmot

MarmotMarmota spp.

marten

MartenMartes spp.

meerkat

MeerkatSuricata suricatta

mink

MinkMustela lutreola (European mink); Neogale vison (American mink)

minke whale

Minke whaleBalaenoptera acutorostrata

mole

Grey, finely spotted mollies swimming among green aquatic plants

MollyPoecilia sphenops

Brown Mongolian gerbil with pale underparts sitting upright at a burrow entrance

Mongolian gerbilMeriones unguiculatus

mongoose

MongooseHerpestidae

monkey

Monkeys and apesSimiiformes (monkeys and apes)

moose

MooseAlces alces

mouflon

MouflonOvis gmelinii complex; European mouflon naming varies between taxonomic treatments

mouse

MouseMus spp.; Mus musculus is the house mouse

Male muskox with long shaggy hair and heavy horns in Dovrefjell, Norway

MuskoxOvibos moschatus

N

narwhal

NarwhalMonodon monoceros

Brown nose-horned viper with a dark dorsal zigzag resting on rock

Nose-horned viperVipera ammodytes

O

Ocelot with elongated black-bordered spots and rounded ears

OcelotLeopardus pardalis

AI illustration of an okapi with a brown body and striped hindquarters

OkapiOkapia johnstoni

opossum

OpossumDidelphimorphia; Didelphis virginiana is one species

orangutan

OrangutanPongo pygmaeus, Pongo abelii and Pongo tapanuliensis

orca

OrcaOrcinus orca

otter

OtterLutrinae; Lutra lutra is the Eurasian otter, Lontra canadensis the North American river otter

P

pale fox

Pale foxVulpes pallida

Pangolin with overlapping scales and a narrow snout

PangolinManidae

pig

PigSus scrofa domesticus

polar bear

Polar bearUrsus maritimus

polecat

PolecatMustela (polecats and related ferrets)

pony

PonyEquus caballus (domestic horse; also Equus ferus caballus)

Black-tailed prairie dog at a burrow entrance, holding food with its front paws

Prairie dogCynomys

Q

quokka

QuokkaSetonix brachyurus

R

rabbit

RabbitOryctolagus cuniculus

raccoon

RaccoonProcyon lotor

Raccoon dog with dense grey-brown fur and dark facial markings around the eyes

Raccoon dogNyctereutes procyonoides

A brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, with whiskers and a scaly tail curved on the ground

red fox

Red foxVulpes vulpes

Red panda with a pale face, reddish fur and a ringed tail

Red pandaAilurus spp.

reindeer

ReindeerRangifer tarandus

rhinoceros

RhinocerosRhinocerotidae

roe deer

Roe deerCapreolus capreolus; Capreolus pygargus

S

Sea otter with thick brown fur and a pale head floating on its back in the water

Sea otterEnhydra lutris

seal

Serval with large rounded ears and a yellowish coat covered in black spots

ServalLeptailurus serval

siberian tiger

Siberian tigerPanthera tigris

skunk

SkunkMephitidae

sloth

Glossy copper-brown legless slow worm coiled on a rock

Slow wormAnguis fragilis

Fossil Smilodon skull with two very long, curved upper canines

Smilodon (saber-toothed cat)Smilodon

Grey-brown smooth snake coiled on dry leaves and pine needles

Smooth snakeCoronella austriaca

AI illustration of a snow leopard with dark rosettes and a bushy tail

Snow leopardPanthera uncia

south china tiger

South China tigerPanthera tigris

Yellow platy with red tones, a red head and black-edged fins on a dark background

Southern platyfishXiphophorus maculatus

sperm whale

Sperm whalePhyseter macrocephalus

squirrel

SquirrelSciuridae (squirrels)

Stoat (Mustela erminea) with a black tail tip among vegetation

StoatMustela erminea

Small grey sugar glider with a black head stripe and large eyes on a branch at night

Sugar gliderPetaurus breviceps

sumatran tiger

Sumatran tigerPanthera tigris

swift fox

Swift foxVulpes velox

T

tapir

TapirTapiridae: Tapirus spp.

Philippine tarsier with large eyes and rounded ears clinging to a branch beneath a green leaf

TarsierTarsiidae

tasmanian devil

Tasmanian devilSarcophilus harrisii

Black-and-white photo of a thylacine with dark stripes on its back in a zoo enclosure

ThylacineThylacinus cynocephalus

tibetan sand fox

Tibetan sand foxVulpes ferrilata

tiger

TigerPanthera tigris

W

wallaby

WallabyMacropodidae (wallabies in several genera)

walrus

WalrusOdobenus rosmarus

Grey warthog with curved tusks and facial warts on dry ground

WarthogPhacochoerus

water shrew

Water shrewNeomys fodiens

weasel

WeaselMustela nivalis

whale

Side view of a white-spotted whale shark swimming through blue water among smaller fish

Whale sharkRhincodon typus

Dark-furred white-handed gibbon with a pale ring around its face at Philadelphia Zoo

White-handed gibbonHylobates lar

wild boar

Wild boarSus scrofa

wildcat

WildcatFelis silvestris (European wildcat)

wolf

WolfCanis lupus

Brown wolverine sitting in grass, showing rounded ears and a bushy tail

WolverineGulo gulo

Life-size model of a woolly mammoth with long brown fur and large curved tusks

Woolly mammothMammuthus

Y

Domestic yak (Bos grunniens) in a mountain landscape

YakBos grunniens

Z

zebra

ZebraEquus quagga, Equus zebra and Equus grevyi