What is a mammal? • Mammals are animals that use lungs to breathe air, produce milk, are warmblooded, vertebrates and are covered in hair.
Vertebrates • Mammals are vertebrates, which means that they all have backbones (spines).
All mammals have hair or fur • Sometimes it's long hair covers their entire body, other mammals have short hair or just a few strands.
Mammals under water • Even mammals that swim under the water (like whales and dolphins) have hair. Its hard to find it! Whales have fine hair on the lips.
Mammals are warm blooded. • The temperature could be really cold or very hot, but mammals’ bodies are built to maintain just about the same temperature all the time.
Believe it or not! • Mammals are the animal class that people belong to.
Bats • Yes a bat is a mammal, it has wings and it’s not a bird.
Mammal Babies: all drink Milk • Baby mammals are born different ways, but they all drink milk that comes from their mothers' bodies. Baby pigs, lions, dogs, dolphins, bats and elephants all drink milk!
Mammal mothers • The mammal mothers have to care for their young.
Teeth • People have "milk teeth“, animals too. • Except anteaters, they don’t have teeth at all!
Special mammals (anteaters) • There are, however, a few mammals (like the duckbilled platypus and the spiny anteater) who lay eggs like a bird!