Anup Shah / Topi female (Damaliscus lunatus jimela) with her new-born calf, eating the placenta after it has been delivered. Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. October 2009.

Doug Gimesy / Grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) that has just given birth, eats the placenta. Yarra Bend Park, Kew, Victoria, Australia. October.

Doug Gimesy / Grey-headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) that has just given birth, eats the placenta. Yarra Bend Park, Kew, Victoria, Australia. October.

Doug Gimesy / Grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) female that has just given birth licking clean her new born. Placenta visible. Yarra Bend Park, Kew, Victoria, Australia. October.

Paul D Stewart / Woodcut illustration of dolphin's placenta, skull and birth by Gesner. Gesner 'Icones Animalium', 1560. Generally animals were grouped by habitat, so dolphins were thought of as fish. However Gesner d...

Franco Banfi / Penta star (Peltaster placenta) Stupiste In dive site, Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean

Franco Banfi / Penta star (Peltaster placenta) Ponza Island, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean

Kristel Richard / A newborn Kathiawari horse colt, still covered with placenta, tries to stand up for the first time, Porbandar, Gujarat, India.

Adrian Davies / Cow (Bos taurus) cleaning new-born calf. Shetland, Scotland, UK.

Adrian Davies / Cow (Bos taurus) consuming afterbirth following birth of calf. Shetland, Scotland, UK, May.

Juergen Freund / Pile of Malampaya Sound capiz shells, the outer shell of the Windowpane oyster (Placuna placenta) found in the shallow coastal waters of the Philippines. The shells are flat and semi-transparent with...

Pete Oxford / Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus) eating Galapagos Fur Seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis) placenta, Fernandina Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador