Imagine the life of this new Mother:

"[She] produces up to 94 gallons of milk per day. She has to -- she is in charge of a baby with a quite gargantuan appetite...[the baby] grows at a phenomenal rate, putting on more than 10 pounds an hour and 250 pounds each day. To keep pace with this, the baby needs to feed up to fifty times a day and can drink 2.5 gallons at each feeding."

Although I may have felt like this some days, my nursing schedule couldn't hold a candle to Mommy Blue Whale's. And my sleep schedule had nothing on killer whales or bottle-nosed dolphins:

"...scientists have discovered that killer whales and bottle-nosed dolphins go an entire month without any sleep. They do this not only to avoid predators, but also to keep the newborn warm until it develops its first layers of insulating blubber. Surprisingly, it seems to have no ill effect on either the parents or their offspring. Both remain alert and on the move throughout this time."

Boy, us human Moms got the short end of the stick on that evolutionary adaptation. No sleep for a month and no ill effect? Just think, no backing over your recycling can at the bottom of the driveway, no sudden inability to string a sentence together during casual conversation, no leaving the house to run errands still wearing your fuzzy pink slippers! Yes, something about motherhood for us humans short-circuits more than a few neural pathways, but it's all worth it. Besides, I'll bet the neighbors got quite a laugh watching me chase those empty soda cans down the street.

Read more about the curious truths of the animal world in "Why Pandas Do Handstands," the newest book to find its way onto my shelf. Author Augustus Brown will show you some amazing facts about animals: that shark embryos can attack, male animals from hot climates make bad fathers, caterpillars can tap dance, a sloth moves so slowly than fungus grows on its feet, and many more.