Signs of spring were appearing everywhere during the second week of April. That week we also experienced record-breaking temperatures. I remembered back to 2007 when we had several days of springlike temperatures only to awake three days later to see four inches of snow in the valleys and twelve inches in the higher elevations.

Back then our yard was a winter wonderland, with everything covered with snow except for the yellow tops of the daffodils. The weatherman is now calling for cooler temperatures, with snow flurries. So, old man winter still has a few tricks up his sleeves.

No matter what kind of weather we are having now, this is the time of year when most wildlife will either be giving birth to or hatching out their young. Some young wildlife will not require care and are on their own as soon as they are born or hatched out, however, others will require weeks if not months of tender loving care from their parents.

Some animals are perfunctory parents and will have mass production of their young, which have instant maturity. The female milk snake buries her elongated, leathery eggs, allowing the sun to do the hatching. The young emerge as miniature adults, capable of finding food on their own.

There are two systems that wildlife uses: precocial and altricial. Precocial comes from the Latin word praecox and means to ripen beforehand. In this type of hatching process, the birds spend roughly a month inside the egg. When hatched, they are fully feathered, their eyes are open and they can leave the nest within one hour.

Due to predators, these birds which are usually ground nesters cannot afford to have their young in the nest for very long. The young have a greater chance of survival if they leave the nest quickly.

The other hatching process is called altricial, which is also Latin and comes from the Latin word altrix, meaning nurse or wet nurse. It is the term used for young birds that hatch in a helpless condition.

These young are hatched usually in 12 days. The chicks are only half formed, with no feathers and closed eyes. They are very weak and helpless, surviving the first few hours on the egg yolk that their stomachs have absorbed. It is estimated that less than one third of the very fragile altricial born birds survive to maturity. Altricial parents will have two and sometimes three sets of young in one mating season.

Nidicolous is a specific term for young birds that remain in or at the nest and are cared for by the parents. It comes from two Latin words: nidus, meaning nest and colere, which means inhabit. Most altricial birds fall into this category.

Nidifugous is a specific term used for young birds that leave the nest soon after hatching and drying. Nidifugous comes from two Latin words: nidus, meaning nest and fugere, meaning to flee.

The young of the great-horned owl are a perfect example of the altricial system. Near the beginning of March, the young are hatched and the parents take care of them until they fledge from the nest near the end of June.

Perfect examples of precocial birds are the turkey and grouse. These birds nest on the ground, with egg hatching taking almost a month. The young will brood under the mother until they are able to fly short distances.

If danger threatens the young grouse chicks, the female will give out a loud squeal and the young will hide. The female could do a crippled-bird act to lead the intruder away. Within seven days, these young chicks can fly to a perch approximately a foot above the ground, and in 10-12 days, they fly well enough to roost in trees with their mother.

Most songbirds are altricial birds.

In this system, raising young can be exhausting for adult birds. The altricial birds usually take about two weeks to hatch out the eggs, and the young are in the nest about fourteen days. During this period, the parents must provide food for the young from dawn to dusk.

It was recorded that in one day, a pair of wrens made 1,217 trips to the nest, while carrying food for their young. A young robin can eat up to 14 feet of earthworms in a day. With three or four young in the nest, the parents are constantly bringing food to the young.

Mammals also have a tough time raising their young. While in the den, the female black bear gives birth to her cubs in either late December or early January. She will nurse the cubs for the next 3-4 months. During this period, the female bear will not eat, drink, defecate or urinate. The young cubs are content to nurse and sleep for the first few weeks. After four weeks, their eyes open. Later they start to move about. Paw prints are sometimes seen in the mud and snow outside the den.

The female will leave the den when the cubs are about three months old. If danger threatens she protects the cubs by sending them up a tree. The cubs have no real enemies in the wild, except for humans and the adult male bear, which has been known to kill and eat cubs. The cubs will stay with their mother until their second summer, at which time, the family unit breaks up.

Now compare the bear to the cottontail rabbit, which is food for many predators. For the species to survive, rabbits depend on the capability of multiplying at an alarming rate. The doe gives birth to the young in a cup-shaped nest that she has scratched out on the ground. The nest is lined with dried grasses and fur pulled from her belly and breast. By pulling out fur, the doe exposes her mammary glands, making it easier for the young to nurse.

The young rabbits are born blind, hairless, and helpless, but they develop rapidly, with their eyes opening within five days. After about 16 days, the young are weaned, fully furred and on their own, while the female starts another nest. In one study, it was found that the typical female bore 25 young over the course of a year. Juvenile females born in the early spring are sexually mature by late summer. They often mate and raise a September litter.

About 85% of all young cottontails never reach maturity, with few surviving more than a year in the wild. However, their lifespan in captivity could reach ten years.

We will soon be seeing young wildlife, and although they might appear as if they need help, the best thing you can do to help is leave them alone.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.