Many, but not all animals give birth in spring. Growing up I thought that spring was when baby animals were born, but now I know that is not true for all animals.
Spring is the time of year when it feels like everything in the natural world is waking up and coming back to life. The trees begin to grow new leaves and flowers start popping up out of the ground. It is an incredible time of year and a great feeling after spending many months in a cold winter. Well, as I now know not all animals give birth in the spring.
When Do Animals Have Babies?
As a general rule all animals have babies at the time of year when there is the greatest abundance of resources available. In other words, an animal will try to time it so that they give birth when it will be the easiest for them to find food for themselves and their newborn babies.
All animals want to give their babies the greatest likelihood of surviving as they can.
For example, many birds will fly south for the winter and then return north in the spring. When they arrive north they are arriving at their ‘breeding areas’. In the spring and early summer is when those areas are coming back to life and there is lots of food available.
What Animals Give Birth In The Spring?
There are a lot of animals that give birth in the spring and I’m not going to list them all here. Instead, I’ll just give you some examples.
Rabbits – They give birth in the spring, but the mom’s will continue to have babies later into the summer.
Deer – Deer give birth in the spring or early summer.
Otters give birth in the spring.
Otters – They usually mate in the winter and then give birth in the spring.
Skunks – Skunks give birth in the spring and will only have babies once a year.
Birds – Most, but not all birds give birth in the spring. Some may give birth more than once a year or at other times of the year if they live in a climate that is not too hot or cold all year long.
Bears give birth during winter.
What Animals Give Birth In The Winter?
Bears give birth during the winter. Then in the spring the now several month old babies emerge from their dens to greet the world.
Squirrels also give birth during the winter. The babies spend the first 7 – 10 weeks with their mother in the den before they emerge in the springtime.