Question

Why mammals spend so many calories on one baby?

Answer 1

Answer:

It's an evolutionary urge to protect the child so that the genes of the parents can be carried on in a forward direction. There are two types of parental caring, one in which a lot of offsprings are produced (quantitative) which occurs in organisms with less parental care habit. As there are huge no of offsprings, the probability of their survival is more even without parental care. However in some cases like mammals there are limited offsprings (2-3) per birth. So there is intense parental care in these cases. The nurturing of the babies is needed to protect and nourish them. Mammary glands are there to nourish them, there is close relationships like families in mammals in order to protect the offsprings etc. The main purpose of spending so much calories on a baby is just selection pressure on a species. It seems more intense due to lesser no of offsprings which are vulnerable and need protection.

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