[Biology] The umbilical cord: is it 'necessary' to sever it, or is it designed to disconnect on its own eventually? - eviltoast

What are the consequences of not severing it? I imagine you’d have the weirdest bellybutton on earth if nothing else.

Cheers!

  • godzillabacter@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Well they don’t eat it to get it off of the baby. While I’m not a vet or a zoologist, my understanding is they eat it for the nutrients as well as to help remove the scent, and newborn animals are easy prey and targeted by predators.