7 Awesome Dads in Nature That Will Make You Want To Give Them A Round of Applause
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We wanted to wish a happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, both human and animal fathers alike!
As a tribute to hardworking dads, here is Ms. Mallory’s favorite list of some of the animal kingdom’s most dedicated dads. Weigh in on the comments section and tell us which species you think is the best father figure.
Even better, send this article to the fathers in your life, telling them which animal father he reminds you of the most!
7. Marmosets & Tamarins
Marmosets and tamarins are small primates native to South America. With the help of other family members, including older siblings, the typical marmoset dad grooms, feeds and give his infants piggyback rides while momma marmoset steps away and takes on a decidedly “disinterested” parenting role after a few weeks. Marmoset fathers will often act as attentive midwifes during the birth of their newborns, going as far to clean up the afterbirth and bite off the umbilical cord.
6. Giant Water Bugs
The giant waterbug of Japan is a surprisingly strong and fierce hunter, paralyzing prey such as frogs by injecting them with toxins. Pregnancy is also a real team effort with these creatures — Mom cements her eggs to Daddy waterbug's back; he then carries them around for a week until they hatch. And we're not talking just one egg — this dad ends up giving piggyback rides to up to 150 kids!
5. Rheas
Rheas are tall, flightless birds from South America. A male runs around with a harem of anywhere between two and 12 females. But before you raise an eyebrow, take note: these dads carry their weight and then some when it comes to child-rearing. Females leave their eggs with Dad, running off to get some action from other males. Meanwhile, Dad looks after the kids, not only incubating up to 60 eggs for over two months with just two weeks of food to sustain him, but also raising the newborn chicks as a single parent for nearly two years.
4. Emperor Penguins
Perhaps the best-known wildlife fathers of all, male Emperor penguins begin their paternal duties long before their offspring are born. After the mother lays her egg, she returns to the sea to feed on a two-month long journey, and the father’s job—keeping the egg safe and warm—begins. He spends two long, arduous months balancing the egg on his feet in the harsh Antarctic winter, protecting it with his brooding pouch. He has to fast for these two months, unable to eat anything until the mother penguin returns and he can make his own journey to the sea to replenish himself.
3. Darwin Frog
The South American Darwin frog is also a remarkable dad, thanks to his unique method for protecting his eggs. After the female Darwin's frog lays up to forty eggs among the leaf litter, the male guards them for about three to four weeks until the developing embryos begin to move. seeing they are about to hatch, he ingests the eggs and holds them in his vocal sac. They hatch about three days later and he continues to carry the tadpoles around in his vocal sac where they feed off their egg yolks and secretions produced by the wall of the sac until metamorphosis. At this stage, about 6 weeks after being swallowed (remember, daddy can’t eat with his kids snacking inside ), the small frogs hop out of the male's mouth when fully developed. It’s like morning sickness gone wrong — very wrong. This dedicated father essentially "vomits" up his children.
