Mammals growth and development

Answer 1

mammals are born and then they grow

Yes while they do this, a more correct deffinition of growth and development is firstly the order in which specific tissues develop : first off is nervous tissue, this occurs mainly while the foetus develops, and the bulk of the body is a head and spinal cord.

Second to develop is bone - this is why new born foals and calfs look very 'leggy' or 'gangally' they have disproportionate ammounts of bone to relative body mass.

Third to develop is muscle, and this occurs alot during adolecence, the animal will put on a lot of muscle, and become better proportioned.

Last to develop is fat, and this is usually as an animal gets older.

This is why when farmers grow a cattle beast for beef, they slaughter at a specific weight - the fat development is what gives the meat its flavour, so it must be slaughtered at a time when it has developed the valuable parts (muscle) and has enough fat to make the meat tasty :)