animal life cycles [general]

All animals need to make copies of themselves or they wouldn't exist anymore it's what life's all about. Of course they can't just put themselves into a photocopier. Some very simple kind of creatures like bacteria do simply make copies of themselves. They just divide in two and that's that. Most creatures have male and female versions so.......... ......they can only make a new copy if they mix together males and females. That's what we called mating The females get pregnant after mating and if they're insects or fish or birds or reptiles they lay eggs. We mammals are different, we don't lay eggs. Our females keep their babies inside their own bodies until they've developed enough to survive in the world. Reproduction To reproduce, animals need a male and female. Together they can create offspring, or babies. Some animals, such as chickens, fish and snakes, lay eggs which contain their offspring. Other animals, including humans, tigers and sheep, grow their babies inside them until they are developed enough to be born. A life cycle is the different stages of life for a living thing. All living things have life cycles. Animals produce offspring and plants produce seeds which germinate into new plants. Here are some examples: Oak tree (plant): Acorn (seed) --- seedling --- sapling --- oak tree Robin (bird): Egg --- chick --- fledging (young bird) --- robin Frog (amphibian): Spawn --- tadpole --- froglet --- frog Butterfly (insect): Egg --- caterpillar --- chrysalis --- butterfly Human (mammal): Baby --- toddler --- child --- adolescent --- adult