Growing up with siblings and stepsiblings helps many animals explore and learn. Australian fur seals are large and social animals. Mating takes place in fall with males guarding large harems of females. Seal pups are weaned by 11 months, when they learn to swim and forage. Black bear cubs climb expertly, stay close to their mother, and wrestle to develop defense skills they will need as adults. In the wild, meerkat pups live in underground burrows in Africa, and are part of a family colony. The alpha female is older, larger and more experienced and other family members teach skills to the young in the group, including many different calls. Alpaca babies, called crias, are gentle and mobile soon after birth. Alpacas have been domesticated for thousands of years in the Andes and are now raised in New Zealand where they have no natural predators. Their sheared fur is warmer and stronger than sheep wool. These social animals live in groups with one dominant male.