Mammals are endotherms , maintaining a high internal temperature by such means as shivering, as necessary. Hibernation or a slowed metabolism is an approach taken by many mammals around here for winter. 3 Mammals have a metanephric kidney, as do birds and reptiles. A metanephric kidney means that the kidney has many units or nephrons . A tuft of capillaries or glomerulus is surrounded by a capsule that leads into a tubule where the water is resorbed.
Mammals excrete urea in the watery form of urine .
Mammals are very intelligent , with complex behaviors, and often live in packs. Mammals can learn to adapt and change in response to experiences. They may also evolve complicated social structures within species populations. The gestation period after successful intercourse varies from 8 days in some marsupials to 22 months in elephants. Marsupials have a very short gestation period and so the young are born relatively undeveloped.