[narrator] Growing up in the wild can be pretty hardcore.

[snake hisses] Imagine learning to leap... roar... swim... or fly for the very first time.

You've got to get it right because the faster you are, the stronger you are, or even the better you can camouflage yourself , the greater your chances of surviving and thriving in the wilderness... when you grow up that is!

But with all this feral rivalry going on, you've got to wonder, who really is Mother Nature's biggest or smallest or most dangerous untamed youngling of them all?

The answers will astound you, and we are counting them down from ten to one.

They are cute... they are "wild"... they are the "cover girls and boys" of the animal kingdom, and they know it.

They are baby animals.

[theme music] [kitten meows] [narrator] Growing up can be hard.

There's a lot to learn and a lot of pressure to learn it.

So today, we are taking that pressure off and introducing you to some baby animals that come out fully cooked, ready to rock, raring to go.

Here is a countdown of the "Ten Most Independent Baby Animals."

Most mammals are born relatively helpless, in need of their mother's care to grow to independence.

But Number Ten on our countdown doesn't wait around long to take on the world.

It's the guinea pig - one of the pluckiest "fur babies" on the planet.

Guinea pigs are rodents native to South America, domesticated around 5,000 BC, and now one of the world's most popular pets.

The "pig" part of their name comes from their tiny, upturned, slightly piggy noses.

One theory about the "guinea" part of their name is thought to originate from the time when they were first sold as pets in England, and sold for a guinea - which wasn't very much at all.

Baby guinea pigs, unlike most other rodents, are born with a full coat of fur, a set of teeth, and the ability to run almost immediately.

A baby guinea pig will feed from its mother for around three weeks.

Most babies need another couple of weeks hanging close to their mother, to pick up the finer points of guinea-pigging, but after that, these youngsters are good to go.

It makes sense they have evolved to be so capable at birth because long ago, their natural environment was full of predators that liked the taste of small mammals, and the need to get away quickly was important.

But the added benefit for people who own guinea pigs as pets is that watching these tiny creatures wandering around playing grown-ups, is endlessly entertaining.

These babies are busy.

First order of business?

Food.

Guinea pigs are true herbivores.

Unlike rats or mice that will eat whatever crosses their path, guinea pigs are only interested in vegetables, fruits, grains, and grasses.

And as babies, they are very interested.

Left to their own interests, baby guinea pigs will eat and eat and then eat some more.

One of the reasons guinea pigs chow down almost constantly is because their teeth grow constantly throughout their lives.

Crunching on pellets, hard vegetables, and chewy grass, keeps their growing chompers in perfect health.

If only that worked for human snacking.

Some guinea pig babies are born with red eyes.

And while those tiny peepers look red, they are technically eyes with no pigment in them.

This lack of pigment is thought to be a throwback to an ancient Himalayan species of guinea pig that had red eyes and hair.

And while there are lots of myths about red-eyed guinea pigs being vicious or sick, it's actually perfectly normal.

And, don't worry, their vision is fine - especially when their favourite food is close by.

Baby guinea pigs may be independent animals, but they are also very social.

The last thing one of these furry fellows wants is to be alone... which makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Who wouldn't want to snuggle up to a furry family like this?

Number nine on our "Countdown of Independent Baby Animals" does everything in "fast forward" mode.

These little ones grow up in the express lane and look super-cute on the journey.

A baby chicken, or chick, if you want to be technical about it , develops inside a fertilised egg in about three weeks.

During this time, the hen keeps the eggs warm with her body and turns the eggs carefully to make sure the growing chicks don't get caught in the delicate membrane inside.

When they are ready to hatch, they use a tiny sharp egg tooth on the tip of their beak to crack their way to freedom.

And almost as soon as they do, they are up and running, and making adorable little cheeping sounds as well.

Chickens are birds.

But unlike some birds, they don't routinely regurgitate food for their young.

Instead, these babies are quickly enrolled in chicken school.

Twenty-four to forty-eight hours after their birth, when the reserves from the nutrients in their eggs are used up, chicks need to start eating like the adult chickens.

So the mother bird models "chicken feeding behaviour" for her babies, pecking her way through grass, overturns seeds, and worms for them to eat.

Chickens are omnivores, so they will give almost anything a peck.

Their natural diet is worms, insects, seeds, and grasses.

But if a flock lives close to humans, their diet can be a bit more varied.

[chickens cluck] Supplementary foods like corn and soybeans are often given, and chickens won't turn up their beak at berries or even vegetables.

Like many of the animals on today's countdown, baby chickens are precocial.

This means they are born able to walk and feed, plus come with a body covering to keep them warm.

On top of that, chickens like a social hierarchy.

They like rules.

So, as they are growing up, baby chickens learn how to be a part of their flock by following the behaviour of the other chickens.

And when they are unsure in the first few days of their lives, there's always Mum's warm feathers to snuggle under.

Chick feathers are called "down" and are incredibly soft.

But because these little ones are on the fast track, it won't surprise you to know that in a matter of weeks, their plumage grows three more types of feathers.

Within a couple of months of hatching, a youngster will look very much like an adult chicken.

And because their brains are developing super-fast, they are pretty much behaving like the adults as well.

It will take another five months or so until these young chickens are able to breed.

But in the meantime, they get to enjoy life surrounded by their flock, scratching and pecking, eating grubs, taking dust baths.

And while that doesn't sound like a huge amount of fun for a human, "playing grown-ups" is peak fun for growing baby chickens.

Our next contender is unequivocally, absolutely and completely one of the cutest baby animals ever!

And a creature that doesn't bother to spend much time being a baby.

Number eight is the domestic cat.

The word "kitten" comes from the old French word "chaton," meaning "little cat."

And that's apt because kittens, from the moment they are born, are small versions of the adult cat they will become, all the beautiful markings, all the adorable body parts.

All that's left to develop is the attitude.

[cat hisses] Depending on the breed, a kitten could weigh between 50 and 150 grams at birth.

And from birth to eight weeks, a kitten goes on a whirlwind of development, from a blind, helpless ball of fuzz, to an independent, meowing, furry chaos-machine.

[kitten meows] Newborn kittens need their mother exclusively for their care.

Their ears are folded, their eyes are closed.

And because kittens don't develop the ability to shiver for their first seven to ten days, they can't generate heat and control their body temperature.

So they need to stick close to their mothers for warmth, safety, and nutrition.

Around four weeks of age, most kittens will have developed a pretty good sense of sight and hearing.

And their tiny legs will be able to hold them up for longer periods.

And that's when their true, inquisitive nature comes out.

[kitten meows] It's worth remembering that these tiny adorable kittens are related to big cats like lions and tigers.

And those animals hunt for survival.

And even though your kitten will have free access to a food bowl and clean water, their instinct to hunt is strong.

[cat meows] All kittens are born with blue eyes.

And while some kitten breeds will grow up to be blue-eyed cats, most will not.

This is because blue eyes, for a cat, are actually eyes with no pigment in them at all.

It takes around six weeks for a kitten's production of the pigment melanin to kick in.

So, a kitten's eventual eye colour is like a secret that only they know.

[meowing] There's one part of having a kitten that's a little less cute.

And that's the litter box.

But it's worth remembering that a kitten's instinct to poop in a box is actually linked back to their ancient heritage as a wild cat.

Cats are territorial by nature and in the wild they use their urine and faeces to mark their territory.

This includes burying poop to let rival cats know that they are coming too close.

So, as much as you'd rather play with your adorable kitty and not go close to their litter box - remember, it's all a part of a kitten's true nature.

Yes, its slightly gross, but with faces like these, it's hard to hold it against them.

Independent little cuties!

Some animals go by a few names, and the next baby on the countdown has some doozies, like javelina and skunk pig.

And Number seven is also known as the collared peccary.

Peccary babies, called "reds" because of their colour, have pretty much all the odds stacked against them.

Born into a tough environment, a tiny, tasty treat for a mountain lion or jaguar, plus their favourite food is a cactus with giant spikes sticking out of it.

Collared peccaries are native to the warmer parts of the Americas.

They are built for semi-arid desert landscapes, and in fact are encouraged by farmers in these regions because of their food tastes.

About 50 percent of a collared peccary's daily food intake is the prickly pear cactus.

This juicy succulent is a pest species that spreads fast wherever it is introduced.

But peccaries love it.

Unfortunately, it comes with massive sharp spikes and takes a bit of work to chomp on, especially for a tiny baby mouth.

Even though collared peccary reds are tiny, they are born weighing around half a kilo - that's like a small loaf of bread - they do not take long to grow.

Within two hours of birth, they are running with their crew.

In two weeks, they are eating solid food.

Within three months, they are weaned from their mothers.

And in a little over a year, they are fully grown and good to go with adult peccary life.

But don't worry, even though these little ones are on the fast track, they have one serious support system, their mother.

Peccary mums take their job seriously, and if anyone messes with their babies, they have a thing or two to say about it.

So, why are these small bristly creatures hardwired to grow up and become independent so quickly?

That comes down to the place they live, the desert.

It's harsh out here and only the toughest survive.

A high proportion of collared peccary reds will not survive to grow a dark coat with a white collar around their neck.

So it's a fight for life from day one.

You might have noticed that these collared peccary babies look an awful lot like domestic piglets.

So they must be pigs, right?

Not quite.

Peccaries are a part of their very own family within the order of mammals called "Artiodactyla."

They are even-toed ungulates.

That means they are hoofed mammals that bear their weight on two of their toes equally.

Which means, while domestic pigs are cousins of the peccary, so are hippos, giraffes, and antelopes.

These rough, tough creatures are also known as javelinas, which is a Spanish word for "wild boar."

And they have a very specific behaviour that is known as the "javelina handshake."

It is a unique "head-to-hindquarter" hug that makes sure the whole family group shares the same pungent scent.

You'd have to be tough to put up with that, right?

In the reptile world, independence is a very valuable trait.

And to see how that works in action, let's meet some cold-blooded characters that tackle life head-on.

Number six on the list of "free agent infants," lizards.

Here's a shot of a baby lizard doing nothing.

To be fair, because we can't see inside these eggs, we have no guarantee that the babies inside are chilling.

But they should be, because once they hatch, lizard babies are all about getting things done, all by themselves.

Baby lizards really should be called "miniature lizards," because from the get-go these little babies are almost perfect miniatures of their parents... all the colours, all the markings, and all of the attitude.

Imagine if you were able to chow down on a full meal from the moment you were born.

That's what these little reptiles can do from day one.

Except their meal is probably more wiggly than whatever you've got in your lunchbox.

But baby lizard life is more than snacking on things that wiggle, fly, and sometimes grow in the ground.

Newly hatched lizards also have to get their tiny heads around the environment they were born into.

And for most of them, that's pretty harsh... rocky, sandy, and full of things that wouldn't mind eating them.

And that's where their defence mechanisms come in.

For a lizard, that basically means making yourself look as scary as possible.

And that's not always easy.

Because while they may have sharp claws and slightly hard-looking pointy bits on their bodies, most lizards need to use their attitude to be really scary.

For these baby water dragons that means chasing rivals away and staring at things.

For baby frilled-neck lizards, an attempt at a full neck flare.

And for pebble-mimic dragon babies, it means flattening out your body until you look like a scary rock.

And when that fails, there's always the option to blend in with your environment until the threat moves on.

Lizards are ectothermic, or cold-blooded if you aren't a scientist.

This means they can't produce body heat from the inside of their bodies.

They need the sun's help with that.

Or a handy heat lamp if they happen to be living in an enclosure.

Warming themselves via external heat sources raises their body temperature and allows the chemical activity in their cells to speed up, providing energy to their muscles.

And should they need to cool down, lizards need access to shady spots.

If they get too cold, a lizard's whole system will slow down and they become super-sluggish... which is probably how we would feel if we decided to eat worms.

One advantage of being cold-blooded is that lizards can go for long periods without eating.

Depending on a lizard's age, size and species, they can go without food for anywhere between two weeks to two months.

If there's no food around, their metabolism can slow down because they don't need the extra energy to maintain body temperature.

However, lizards generally cannot survive without water for longer than a few days.

Baby lizard life may seem kind of rough from a human point of view but with thousands of species, and more diversity in body shape and size than any other group of reptiles, their independent life from day dot could just be the very key to their success.

We have hit the middle of our "Countdown of Independent Baby Animals".

This next one is definitely a survivor.

Number five, the black-necked stork.

These tall, elegant birds are found in India, South-East Asia, and Australia.

With long legs and a powerful pointy beak, the black-necked stork is perfectly built for its wetland habitat.

Reaching around 1.3 metres in height as adults, with a wingspan of up to two metres, and a neck that can swing around 360 degrees, a black-necked stork is an imposing sight.

These birds are waders, spending their days picking their way through the shallows, then plunging their beaks down into the water to catch fish, crustaceans, and amphibians.

Sounds like a lovely life so far.

Well, it may be for the adults.

But for black-necked stork chicks - not so much.

Born naked and completely helpless, a black-necked stork chick has to grow up fast.

There are usually two to four baby birds in a clutch, so initially Mum and Dad share the parenting load.

Each parent will catch, swallow, and then regurgitate meals for their babies, which seems gross but clearly works for the chicks.

Very quickly, the chicks grow their distinctive black-necked stork feathers though in slightly different colours at first.

It's all going terribly well, isn't it?

Unfortunately, when the babies are around three months of age, their parents decide they've had enough of this regurgitating game and they encourage their chicks to leave.

No more meals.

No more comfy nest.

It's time for the baby birds to be grown-up birds.

So these black-necked stork babies learn how to be independent very quickly, otherwise they will not survive.

You can pick these brave babies out because instead of the red legs their parents have, they have dark legs.

And where the adults have black feathers, the newly independent chicks' feathers are brown.

For tall birds, black-necked storks have an unusual habit.

You'd think they'd have nests on the ground where they can fold up their long legs and snuggle in, but no.

You will often find black-necked stork nests high in trees in their wetland and floodplain habitats.

These nests are big - a collection of sticks, fronds, and branches, and it all looks kind of perilous up there.

But it makes sense.

Because floodplains flood.

So, to keep their hatchlings and themselves safe, black-necked storks will usually nest as high as they can.

Now, it might seem impossibly cruel that black-necked storks chuck their babies out of home so early.

But there is some good news.

Even though black-necked storks are solitary birds - choosing to be alone or in pairs for most of their lives - they do allow their forced fledgelings to hang around for a year or so.

From a distance, young black-necked storks observe their parents hunting and defending their territory over the year.

And before long, they are living their best black-necked stork life... catching fish, soaring above the floodplains, and eventually finding another black-necked stork to share a nest with and start off the circle of life again.

Our next "Independent Baby Animal" is soft, cuddly, and will grow up to potentially have about 150 babies in its lifetime.

Meet Number four, the rabbit.

Baby rabbits - or kits - weigh around 50 grams at birth, which is about the same as a single slice of bread.

These newborns are bald, blind, and totally dependent on their mother.

But here's the thing.

Just hours after she gives birth to anywhere up to 15 babies, a mother rabbit can get pregnant again.

So, her ability to regularly feed her tiny kits is limited.

But rabbits have evolved a very clever strategy to maintain their huge families.

A mother, or "doe's" milk is so nutritious that kits can survive being fed only once a day.

Within seven days, a baby rabbit will have some fur, and after another week, they will have what looks like a very fluffy adult coat of fur.

At around three weeks of age, a baby rabbit will start showing interest in solid food.

And by six weeks, they will be weaned from their mother and eating grass and hay like a boss rabbit.

Whoa, that's one super-fast childhood!

Now, all that food has to come out the other end.

And when you are a rabbit that happens in a unique way.

Their diet is all plants, so rabbits generate a lot of waste.

And rabbit guts produce two different kinds of poo... one hard and pellet-like, and one called "cecotrope" that's soft and sticky... and that rabbits eat at night when no-one is looking.

Because of that we can't show you a picture of it, but we will show you a picture of the adorable baby bunny face that ate its own poop last night.

Large floppy ears make baby rabbits look particularly sweet.

But those same ears are also a barometer of how a rabbit is feeling.

If a rabbit's ears are standing up but relaxed, you are looking at a chilled bunny.

If the ears are slanting forwards, that indicates the rabbit is curious and cautious.

Baby rabbits hopping about are undeniably cute.

But have you ever wondered why rabbits hop?

It's actually for safety.

Rabbits are very vulnerable to predators, so they have developed powerful hind legs to escape quickly.

And when they aren't going at maximum speed, the bulk of the muscles in those hind legs mean a bunny has no choice but to hop.

Going from tiny bald kit to a bounding self-reliant bunny in six weeks makes these independent cuties pretty impressive in our books.

The next animals in our line-up of "Independent Babies" are snakes.

Snake life is all about a few simple things... slithering about, avoiding being killed, and killing things to eat.

And that simple life is exactly what a baby snake is fully equipped to live, from the moment it emerges.

First, let's look at the slithering about.

Snakes have no limbs but they do have up to 600 pairs of ribs attached to a very long spine by a system of muscles.

And from their very first slither, baby snakes contract their muscles to use their ribs and spine to propel themselves forward.

Using this system, snakes can get themselves almost anywhere... along the ground, through water, up trees, and into hidey holes.

Which brings us to the next part of snake life... trying not to be killed.

Believe it or not, snakes - even the scary venomous ones that are very capable of killing anything - are fairly vulnerable creatures.

So, they have developed lots of great skills to keep themselves alive.

One of them is the attack posture, where they coil their bodies horizontally, gathering their muscle strength, ready to bite, constrict, or swallow anything that gets in their face.

And baby snakes have this posture nailed, right from birth.

Even before that point, most snakes have developed colouring and markings that complement their surroundings.

So if a hungry predator comes looking for a snack, they might just think a baby snake is just a rock or a tree branch, and move on.

Finally, there's the question of finding food.

And for baby snakes, this is super important because from the moment they are born, they are alone... no parents to help them find food, no backup from older siblings.

These baby reptilian carnivores have to hit the hunting ground running.

Or slithering, as the case may be.

A snake's tongue is a remarkable thing.

And it is remarkable from the moment a snakelet hatches.

As soon a baby snake pokes its nose out of its egg, it will thrust its tongue into the air.

With a special sense called "chemoreception", a newborn snake will smell the air.

Chemicals in the air, that might signal threats or food, stick to the snake's tongue and let them know which direction is best to move in.

And the best part is, there's no-one around to tell a baby snake that, "It's rude to poke out your tongue."

Statistically speaking, there aren't too many humans who are keen to cuddle a baby snake, whether they are venomous or constrictors or chilled snakes that just hang out in trees.

So, it's probably best for all of us that snake babies, like their bigger family members, are independent enough to handle their own lives.

On this "Countdown Of The Most Independent Baby Animals," we have met some that are born independent, some that choose independence, and some that have independence thrust upon them.

And now we are almost at the top of the pile.

Number two on the list of "Babies That Are Raring To Go" might have one of the goofiest faces in the animal kingdom, but this little clown has no problem standing on its own four feet from the get-go.

Meet the alpaca.

These close cousins of the llama come from the marshy mountain valleys of South America.

To survive the extremes of that climate, they have developed a thick, soft fleece coat that has become highly valued by humans.

And so, these goofy-looking creatures have become popular farm animals around the world, with alpaca fibre used for sweaters, coats, and blankets.

These babies are born ready to go.

A couple of hours after birth, a baby alpaca will be standing, feeding, and working out how to pick up some baby speed.

Fun fact: a baby alpaca is known as a cria.

For Spanish speakers, this can be a bit confusing because "cria" is a word that some use to describe baby animals generally.

But in English, cria is the word used to describe any young alpaca or llama.

A baby alpaca weighs between six to nine kilograms at birth.

For its first four weeks of life, Mum's milk is the sole source of food, and in this time a cria will double in weight.

For the next five to six months, a cria will also start to eat grass and hay.

Alpacas have very soft hooves, so they don't tear up the ground like cattle or horses.

Additionally, they have small mouths and teeth that snip the tops off blades of grass rather than pulling it out of the ground.

So another name for a cria might be a "baby lawnmower."

The fact that baby alpacas very quickly adopt all the behaviours of the adults in their herd definitely makes them independent.

But there is one habit they have from their first days that makes them stand out from the crowd.

Alpacas, unlike many farm animals, have very specific toileting habits.

They establish a patch of ground as a toileting spot.

And all the herd, even the babies, head to the "toilet" when they feel the need.

Being domesticated livestock, alpacas need to be sheared.

They have a continuously-growing fleece so if it is not cut yearly, it will end up scraping along the ground.

An adult alpaca will yield an average of two kilograms of fleece per year.

That's enough to make about four sweaters.

It is softer than cashmere and lighter than wool.

So it not only contributes to the production of beautiful, warm products for humans, it makes the sheared alpacas look even more hilarious.

Alpacas are known for their funny looking faces, floppy fringes, flaring nostrils, long, fleece-covered tails... but they also wear their hearts on their sleeves.

They spit when they feel angry or threatened.

They will push their ears back when they are frightened.

And even though they are pretty independent from birth, baby alpacas are herd animals, and will always choose the safety of their soft, fuzzy family to protect them.

At the top of our list of "Independent Babies" are a family of animals that are hardcore right from the start.

Meet our Number one "Independent Baby," the marine turtle.

[waves wash on shore] From the point where a mother turtle drags herself up on the beach, slowly digs a hole, and lays a large clutch of eggs, baby marine turtles are on their own.

The eggs are at the mercy of their environment.

While they incubate, usually over a couple of months, these precious eggs are vulnerable to inundation from rising sea levels, predators like seabirds, and disturbance by human activity.

And that's not even the hardest part of a baby turtle's early life.

Because once they start to hatch, baby marine turtles start the real tough stuff.

First, they have to fight their way out of their individual eggs.

Then, they dig through the sand.

But it's not just one baby turtle.

It can be hundreds, all at the same time, struggling up to the surface of the sand.

Only then can the journey to the water begin.

With no parent for guidance, at the mercy of the weather and whatever is lying in wait on the beach, baby marine turtles have one goal in mind... the ocean.

Even though these babies are only minutes old, they have a tonne of skills onboard.

Turtles have good vision, especially for bright lights.

So on this perilous journey from nest to ocean, they focus on the light of the horizon and the white crests on the breaking waves.

Even more impressive, sea turtles have an inbuilt "magnetic sense" which allows them to orient to the earth's magnetic field as a navigation aid.

Slowly, but surely, using every ounce of energy they have onboard, each hatchling is on its own journey for survival.

Climate change is a huge issue for our planet.

But increasing temperature averages are particularly problematic for marine turtles.

And here's why.

Eggs incubated at a temperature below 28 degrees Celsius will develop as male turtles.

If the temperature rises, they will become female.

So, with an overall trend to increasing temperatures, reptile species, like marine turtles, are at risk of losing the capacity to breed effectively.

And that will have an irreversible effect on the marine ecosystem.

Even when a baby turtle makes it to the safety of the water, it can't breathe a sigh of relief.

A new set of challenges face them here... predators, competition for food.

ocean conditions.

In fact, only somewhere between 1 in a 1,000, or even 1 in 10,000 baby marine turtles will make it to adulthood where the circle of turtle life can begin again.

So, next time you are considering complaining about being expected to do chores, remember the baby marine turtle - living the independent life like a champion from day dot.