We know that caterpillars transform into butterflies: it’s one of nature’s most beautiful and extreme changes between an infant and a mature state. Surprisingly, a distinct change in infant and adult is not unique to butterflies but is also common in other animals. If you’re curious, scroll down and click on each animal to see how different it is from its grown-up counterpart.
1. Frogs
When frog eggs hatch, the little tadpoles look nothing like their adult counterparts. They lack limbs and instead use a large tail to move about. Eventually, they will grow powerful hind legs, and then lose their tails and grow the front legs and will finally be ready to leave the water, looking like actual frogs
2. Giant Pandas
Giant Panda cubs are anything but that – the cubs are born weighing 100-200 grams (3 ½-7 oz.) and measuring 15-17cm (6-7 inch). A mature giant panda weighs as much as 160kg (350lb) and can reach 1.9m (4-6ft) in size.
3. Sultan Fowls
Sultan Fowl chicks are born covered in plumage instead of feathers, often in a yellowish color. Mature sultan fowls have a much different coat, with a distinct “hairdo” of feathers.
4. Japanese Macaques
Japanese Macaque infants don’t share the lush fur the adults sport, developing it only after a few weeks. Their mother will often carry the infants for around 18 months.
5. Stingrays
Did you know that Stingrays are related to sharks? They get their name from the barbed sting most species have at the tip of their tails.
6. François' langur
François' Langur infants have a very different coat compared to the adults, in both patterns and color.
7. Goffin Cockatoos
Goffin Cockatoos chicks are born completely devoid of plumage, looking completely different than adult cockatoos.
8. Octopuses
Octopus hatchlings are hundreds of time smaller than adults, often semi-translucent and lacking the impressive color-shifting abilities the adults exhibit.
9. Echidnas
Echidnas (also known as the “Spiny Anteater”) are a strange combination between a hedgehog and an anteater, yet are not related to either. When young echidnas (called “puggles”) hatch, they are not covered in spikes and have fur instead.
10. Kangaroos
Kangaroos are marsupials, meaning that once the mother gives birth, the infant remains in a special pouch until it is mature enough to leave. A newborn kangaroo can be as small as a grain of rice.
