How long mom-beasts feed the young milk?

"Answer this question is unambiguously impossible: each individual is unique and can manifest individual behavior. Take, for example, man. Someone ceases to feed the baby with milk after a few months, but there are separate cases of feeding to 3 and a half or more. In wildlife, of course, animals cannot afford such "wastefulness". The tireless need to fight for their lives (with predators, unfavorable conditions and hunger) makes mammals reduce the feeding period of young to a minimum. However, there may be very strong discrepancies in the timing depending on the conditions. So all the numbers that we will last will be will be very averaged.

Cats feed their kittens with milk about three to four weeks. If kittens suck later the lactation period, then, most likely, this is mixed food: kittens eat and adult food, and try to snatch milk from mom. Either in general can suck – a kind of element of communication between the babies and mom. A domestic cat that lives warm, with constant access to food, can feed the babies longer. But most often after three to four weeks, the cat itself ceases to let the kittens for milk. All the more street, which simply can’t afford it. After five months, she can already wear the following kids. While her major fellows tigers – up to five to six months, and the African Lion is six to seven months.

Domestic dogs whore puppies about three weeks, raccoon dog – about a month, wolf – four to six weeks, ordinary fox – six to seven weeks.

Considering these figures, it is worth considering a very important point: all kinds of animals practiced a mixed type of feeding. That is, the young young milk feed only at the earliest stage when they are blind and helpless. But as soon as they cut the teeth (and even earlier this period), females bring them extraction. If the young is not yet able to eat solid food independently, then her mother burns it and repels them. So all the listed feeding deadlines are not only approximate, but also indicated without taking into account that the older than the kids, the more they eat meat (or other feed depending on the type) and less milk milk.