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Why is a guinea pig immediately born "adult"?

Now listen to an amazing story. When a kitten is born, it is blind, small and helpless. A puppy is the same. Even you, when you were a baby, could neither walk nor see clearly for the first few weeks. But a baby guinea pig… immediately like a full-grown pig!

Guinea pigs are born fully prepared for life. The baby's eyes are already open, it has ears that hear perfectly, fur all over its body and — attention — a mouth full of teeth! An hour after birth, it is already running around the cage and sniffing everything around. And on the second day it is tasting carrots, cucumbers and hay — just like its mother.

Scientists call such cubs "brooding." This means that they are born almost fully grown. Why? Because in the wild, the ancestors of guinea pigs lived in the mountains of South America, among rocks and grasses. It is difficult to hide in a burrow there - and you won't be able to hide for long. That's why nature has done this: the cub must run away, eat and survive on its own from the very first day.

A mother guinea pig carries her babies for 65-72 days (that's almost 10 weeks!), which is why they are born large — 80-100 grams. For comparison: a kitten weighs only 100 grams, but it is much more helpless.

If you have a guinea pig and her babies at home, take a closer look. Within a day, you'll see the tiny piglets trying hay, nibbling on cucumbers, and jumping around the cage in a funny way.

Guinea pigs are born as small adults. Isn't that a miracle?