Something occurred to me recently that I’d never thought of before: porcupine birth. Yeah. Ouch, right? Covered head to tail in sharp quills—that’s gotta pose a serious problem in the delivery room.

Being a mother is a tremendous accomplishment and one of the most challenging jobs in the world. This applies even in the animal kingdom, where it can be a literal dog-eat-dog world for many species.

Explore why different animals have varying litter sizes based on reproduction strategies and survival adaptations.