Winter babies

Winter can be a tough time for wildlife. It’s cold, the days are short, and food is harder to find. But while many species are hibernating, some hardy animals are busy raising their young. Let's meet a few!

Grey seals

The award for the cutest winter baby has to go to the grey seal! In the UK, most grey seal babies (called pups) are born between September and January. The female seals come together in big colonies on beaches and rocky shores to give birth. Grey seals normally have only one pup, but in 2016 a seal in Norfolk had twins! Seal pups are born with a coat of fluffy white fur, which helps them keep warm even in the coldest weather. But the secret to staying warm in the water is to get fat, and we mean really fat! To help her pup grow quickly, the mother seal produces milk that is over 50% fat – that’s five times fattier than some ice creams!

Pigeons

Baby pigeons are funny-looking creatures. They have thin yellow feathers that look like patches of hair, a big, baggy throat and a giant beak. But the strangest thing about baby pigeons (called squabs, or chicks) is that they can be found in any month of the year! This is especially true for feral pigeons, the ones you see flocking in towns and cities. Because they feed on our scraps as well as natural food like berries, feral pigeons can find plenty of food to feed their chicks even in the middle of January. Collared doves, woodpigeons and stock doves can all have chicks in winter, too.

Badgers

Badgers don’t hibernate in the winter, but they do spend a lot more time underground in their setts. Each autumn they feast on nuts, seeds and berries to put on lots of fat. This helps them survive when food is hard to find. They also gather bedding to make their setts nice and cosy for the winter, when the females give birth. 

Most badger babies (called cubs) are born in February, though some can be as early as December. They are born blind and helpless and can take up to five weeks to open their eyes! By the time the cubs are around 10 weeks old, they’re ready to start exploring the world above the ground. You might even see them playing outside of the entrance to their sett in May.