Animals are caring parents. The weirdest moms in the animal kingdom

Not only human mothers take care of their offspring. Excellent parents, ready to do anything for their children, are also found among animals. Moreover, some of them do very strange things so that their cubs can live in peace. You can read more about the most caring mothers among animals in this article.

Pigs

It is pigs that are fundamentally different from how we imagine them. They are not only much smarter than we used to think, but also more caring. Pigs sing lullabies to their children! While the piglets are sucking milk, the pig snorts and grunts melodiously, which can be interpreted precisely as a lullaby. It starts with a grunt that lets the babies know that it's time to start eating, and ends with a soft grunt that warns the piglets that the mother is about to leave.

crocodiles

When we think of crocodiles, we imagine the ultimate killing machine with a huge jaw that can snap an antelope's neck with one bite. But, despite the fact that alligators are the most dangerous predators on the planet, they are also considered the most the best parents. Few people know about it, but alligators are the only reptiles that take care of their offspring after hatching. All the rest just leave their offspring to their fate. But not just crocodiles.

When little crocodiles begin to peck through their shells, they make shrill sounds to alert their mother that they are ready to be born. After that, the crocodile mother carefully takes the egg into her toothy mouth and carries the babies to the water. Dipping his jaw into the water, he gently shakes his head, prompting the crocodiles to swim out of his mouth. If they have problems breaking the shell, she presses a little on the egg, helping him. Crocodile mothers and their offspring stay together for up to a year, which is an impressive time for the animal world.

Red-bellied hornbill

These colorful and unique birds that reside in Indonesia can be truly devoted mothers. Female hornbills build their nests in tree holes and must carefully guard their eggs from predators and lizards that strive to feast on tasty prey. Therefore, a brave mother never leaves her nest for all two months while she hatches eggs. To make the protection more reliable, she makes a "wall" of her feces, with the help of which she bricks up the entrance to the hollow.

giant octopus

The giant octopus is known for being a large and extremely intelligent creature. But who would have thought that the female octopus is also considered one of the most devoted mothers on the planet. After all, they spend about 53 months (that's almost 4.5 years!) laying over 50,000 eggs in their carefully guarded den. The octopus lays eggs one by one, and then carefully sticks them to the walls of a small, well-hidden cave. Small octopuses are formed in eggs for quite a long time - from several months to 2 years, depending on the species. And all this time, their mother faithfully carries out her service, guarding the masonry, washing and protecting the eggs from predators. Before spawning, the body of the mother octopus stops producing digestive enzymes, as she does not eat anything during the entire growth of the eggs. And all this time she slowly dies of hunger. After several years of such "fasting", her body becomes exhausted and she dies immediately after the octopuses hatch from the eggs.

Wasps

Bizarrely colored wasps are not just beautiful insects. It is they who are considered one of the most selfless mothers among Hymenoptera. When the mother wasp is ready to lay her eggs, she goes in search of a cockroach, which should become an "incubator" for her offspring. She finds an insect, paralyzes it with her poison, and then lays a larva in his belly. She hatches and begins to eat a paralyzed cockroach. Sounds pretty nasty, but this is how lunar wasps ensure the survival of their larvae.

Cuckoo

These spiders, also known as "desert spiders", raise their children in the weirdest and wildest way imaginable. Like the octopus, the mother spider dies shortly after her children are born. When they are old enough, they inject it with poison and digestive enzymes and then devour it. The spider goes to this without the slightest resistance, because otherwise her children will not survive.

opossums

Possum mothers are indeed one of the most devoted parents among animals. These marsupials carry their tiny newborns in a pouch on their stomach for up to two months after birth. They are very comfortable there - warm, brothers and sisters sleep nearby, and besides, you can always eat. As soon as the babies grow up enough to see the world, the mother continues to carry them further, but already on her back. For another three months, she performs her heavy maternal duty, keeping them safe and feeding them. Only when her children become strong and independent does she finally allow them to leave the warm and cozy place on her back.

koalas

Koala mothers are not afraid to do everything to make their cubs feel safe. The diet of koalas consists of only one food - eucalyptus leaves, which are very poisonous. Adult koalas can easily digest them because digestive system inhabited by special bacteria, which makes it easy to digest this poisonous food.

However, their cubs do not yet have such an opportunity, so their mother selflessly chews her feces and feeds them to her babies. You'd be hard-pressed to find moms who would do this for their kids, which is why the koala takes pride of place on our list.

harp seals

Little seals with big ones round eyes puppy and white fluffy fur - these are perhaps the cutest creatures on the planet. But you have no idea how much milk a day they need in order to stay as plump! When baby seals are born, they are completely dependent on their mothers. They not only protect babies from predators and protect them from other seals. They feed them with their milk, while eating nothing. A female seal loses about 3 kilograms per day because of this. But at the same time, her cub is eating healthy, high-fat milk and is gaining about 2.8 kilograms every day, so it's worth it.

As you can see, there are many living beings in nature who devote themselves to motherhood no less selflessly than a person. And what species seemed to you the most devoted?

January 19, 2012, 14:00

Kittens, elephants, tiger cubs and many other cubs of animals can boast that their mother is the best in the world. Of course, everyone has dads too. But it's hard to say how caring he will be - it's just how lucky. Representatives of the cat family are some of the most caring mothers in the world. They are so dissolved in love for their offspring that they are quite capable of adopting not only other people's kittens, but also other living creatures. For example, there was a case when a tigress nursed piglets, and a cat nursed a squirrel. Cats are rare cleanliness, so the issue of “diapers” is removed immediately: kittens are always licked “to shine”, warmed up and fed. Mom takes care of the kids for about three months - by this age they become completely independent.





Another moustached and striped mother, a tigress, feeds her cubs with milk for up to six months, despite the fact that small predators have been eating meat since about two months of age. Then it's time to learn the wisdom of life. At first, the mother brings fresh meat from the hunt. Then he leads from one prey to another. To two years of age cubs weigh up to 100 kilograms and, under the guidance of their mother, they begin to hunt on their own. A tigress will let her children go into independent life well prepared, strong, strong and healthy. Tellingly, she copes with all these worries alone, although "dad" often lives nearby.



And Putin is a tiger! penguins After the egg is laid, the female emperor penguin very carefully and very carefully delivers it to the father, who hides it in a wide fold of skin under the belly and hatches the baby penguin. The female immediately returns to the sea to eat her fill, leaving the male without food for about two months.
"Abandoned" fathers gather in large groups to keep warm and jointly withstand the harsh climate of Antarctica, where icy winds can reach 200 km/h. They patiently wait for the return of the females. And when the "prodigal" parents finally return, each unmistakably finds her penguin - focusing on the trumpet call of her male. During one reproductive season, the male mates with only one female, showing a rare example of monogamy. Let Volochkova be jealous! elephants It takes an elephant 22 months to carry the world's largest baby. This fact alone commands infinite respect. However, after the birth of the baby, the mother does not say goodbye to the baby elephant, but begins to raise it and literally nurture it. Elephants are born completely blind, so they are completely dependent on their mothers. And here's what's interesting: in elephant communities, the service of babysitters on a voluntary basis is extremely common. That is, a newborn baby elephant, of course, has its own own mother. But at the same time, all the elephants of the herd are his "mothers", caring for the baby and protecting him from dangers, as if it were their "son" or "daughter". And at this time, the "main mother" can safely go in search of food in order to provide milk for her not at all small baby.

alligators We are accustomed to consider these not very attractive animals cold-blooded - in direct and figuratively- and least of all are inclined to think that they are characterized by manifestations of tender love and care. However, it is not. Arranging a nest for herself, the mother crocodile not only prepares for laying eggs, but also “determines” the sex of her future children. For example, a nest made of leaves will be warmer than a nest made of damp moss, so more "boys" will hatch in it. Once future mom decided on the floor and laid eggs, she steps on guard: monitors the temperature, humidity, drives away too curious and hungry visitors. When the babies hatch, the mother immediately sends them into her toothy mouth - no, not in order to dine with them, but in order to deliver them to the water. She still takes care of them. whole year- the period is quite considerable. Especially for crocodiles.
Female orangutan can become pregnant once every eight years. Therefore, it is easy to imagine how carefully her long-awaited cub is taken care of. For the first two years of life, babies are completely dependent on their mother. Moreover, during the first four months, physical contact between the mother and the child is never interrupted - the baby is carried everywhere with them, not leaving it for a minute. The mother and cub sleep only in an embrace, in a nest that a caring parent builds every evening. And even older children try to stay close to their mother - up to five years. Moreover, daughters do not leave their mothers longer than sons. In a word, everything, like people! Who doesn’t bother about the extra pounds gained during pregnancy is polar bears. They already know for sure that the main thing is the health of future babies. Therefore, the volume of the bearish "waist" and weight increase by about two times. This is not surprising: in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, it is different not only not to feed a bear cub, but also not to survive on your own. With the onset of cold weather, the expectant mother arranges a lair for herself, which consists of a tunnel with a narrow entrance and three "rooms". Having settled in the den, the bear falls into a state of light hibernation. And in the same semi-euphoric state brings offspring. Perhaps this is the easiest and most pleasant childbirth - childbirth in a dream. Bear cubs are born blind and tiny. However, in the spring, by the time they leave the den, thanks to their heroic mother, these butuzes eat up to 12 kilograms. And only after eight months of forced starvation, the she-bear with her cubs will be able to go on the ice to the sea for real food - fish and fur seals. For the next few years, she takes care of her offspring and teaches the knowledge necessary in life. But that's not all - the she-bear is not averse to "adopt" abandoned or orphaned alien cubs.

Kittens, elephants, tiger cubs and many other cubs of animals can boast that their mother is the best in the world. Of course, everyone has dads too. But it's hard to say how caring he will be - it's just how lucky.

Representatives of the cat family are some of the most caring mothers in the world. They are so dissolved in love for their offspring that they are quite capable of adopting not only other people's kittens, but also other living creatures. For example, there was a case when a tigress nursed piglets, and a cat nursed a squirrel. Cats are rare cleanliness, so the issue of “diapers” is removed immediately: kittens are always licked “to shine”, warmed up and fed. Mom takes care of the kids for about three months - by this age they become completely independent.

Another moustached and striped mother, a tigress, feeds her cubs with milk for up to six months, despite the fact that small predators have been eating meat since about two months of age. Then it's time to learn the wisdom of life. At first, the mother brings fresh meat from the hunt. Then he leads from one prey to another. By the age of two, cubs weigh up to 100 kilograms and, under the guidance of their mother, begin to hunt on their own. A tigress will let her children go into independent life well prepared, strong, strong and healthy. Tellingly, she copes with all these worries alone, although "dad" often lives nearby.

After the egg is laid, the female emperor penguin very carefully and very carefully delivers it to her father, who hides it in a wide fold of skin under the abdomen and hatches the penguin. The female immediately returns to the sea to eat her fill, leaving the male without food for about two months.

"Abandoned" fathers gather in large groups to keep warm and jointly withstand the harsh climate of Antarctica, where icy winds can reach 200 km / h. They patiently wait for the return of the females. And when the "prodigal" parents finally return, each unmistakably finds her penguin - focusing on the trumpet call of her male. During one reproductive season, the male mates with only one female, showing a rare example of monogamy.


It takes an elephant 22 months to carry the world's largest baby. This fact alone commands infinite respect. However, after the birth of the baby, the mother does not say goodbye to the baby elephant, but begins to raise it and literally nurture it. Elephants are born completely blind, so they are completely dependent on their mothers. And here's what's interesting: in elephant communities, the service of babysitters on a voluntary basis is extremely common. That is, a newborn baby elephant, of course, has its own mother. But at the same time, all the elephants of the herd are his "mothers", caring for the baby and protecting him from dangers, as if it were their "son" or "daughter". And at this time, the "main mother" can safely go in search of food in order to provide milk for her not at all small baby.

We are accustomed to consider these not very attractive animals cold-blooded - literally and figuratively - and are least of all inclined to think that they are characterized by manifestations of tender love and care. However, it is not. Arranging a nest for herself, the mother crocodile not only prepares for laying eggs, but also “determines” the sex of her future children. For example, a nest made of leaves will be warmer than a nest made of damp moss, so more "boys" will hatch in it. As soon as the expectant mother has decided on the sex and laid her eggs, she steps on guard: monitors the temperature, humidity, drives away too curious and hungry visitors. When the babies hatch, the mother immediately sends them into her toothy mouth - no, not in order to dine with them, but in order to deliver them to the water. She takes care of them for another whole year - quite a long time. Especially for crocodiles.

A female orangutan can become pregnant once every eight years. Therefore, it is easy to imagine how carefully her long-awaited cub is taken care of. For the first two years of life, babies are completely dependent on their mother. Moreover, during the first four months, physical contact between the mother and the child is never interrupted - the baby is carried everywhere with them, not leaving it for a minute. The mother and cub sleep only in an embrace, in a nest that a caring parent builds every evening. And even older children try to stay close to their mother - up to five years. Moreover, daughters do not leave their mothers longer than sons. In a word, everything, like people!


Those who do not bother about extra pounds gained during pregnancy are polar bears. They already know for sure that the main thing is the health of future babies. Therefore, the volume of the bearish "waist" and weight increase by about two times. This is not surprising: in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, it is different not only not to feed a bear cub, but also not to survive on your own. With the onset of cold weather, the expectant mother arranges a lair for herself, which consists of a tunnel with a narrow entrance and three "rooms". Having settled in the den, the bear falls into a state of light hibernation. And in the same semi-euphoric state brings offspring. Perhaps this is the easiest and most pleasant childbirth - childbirth in a dream.

Bear cubs are born blind and tiny. However, in the spring, by the time they leave the den, thanks to their heroic mother, these butuzes eat up to 12 kilograms. And only after eight months of forced starvation, the she-bear with her cubs will be able to go on the ice to the sea for real food - fish and fur seals. For the next few years, she takes care of her offspring and teaches the knowledge necessary in life. But that's not all - the she-bear is not averse to "adopt" abandoned or orphaned alien cubs.

Who would doubt that mother hens are the best mothers in the world. Hens have been known to adopt and care for other chickens and may take chicks of a different species under their wings, and sometimes other animals: puppies, kittens, piglets, etc.

sea ​​otters

Mothers take care of their offspring alone. The cubs are born quite large and grow up quickly, and up to this point, the baby spends most of the time swimming with her mother on her belly. Children who have lost their mother will not die either: some compassionate neighbor will definitely take care of the orphans.

cats

One of the most caring moms in the world. They can warm and feed not only other people's kittens, but also other animals. The cat will take care of the offspring for up to three months, until the children become completely independent.

hedgehogs

The hedgehog arranges a “nursery” for her children in advance, in which it is warm and dry and does not leave the kids for the first days. When leaving, she carefully covers them with grass and leaves so that it is warm and no one sees.

Squirrels

All worries about the upbringing of offspring, building a nest and the safety of baby squirrels are taken over by the mother. And it is also known that the squirrel often adopts neighboring orphaned cubs. She drags them into her own nest and takes care of them like her own.

elephants

Elephant females deserve a reward already for the fact that they heroically bear a cub for 22 whole months! Baby elephants are born blind and completely dependent on their mothers. As soon as the baby is born, other herd elephants take an active part in raising the “child”, so that the “main mother” has time for herself.

cows

Cows are very caring mothers. They become very attached to their calf and are very worried when the cub goes missing.

orangutans

A female orangutan can become pregnant once every eight years, so the newborn cub will be surrounded by special care. For the first four months, she will carry the baby everywhere, not leaving one for a minute, and sleep with him only in an embrace.

White bears

After mating, the she-bear makes her own food to double her weight. Only in this way will she be able to survive and feed the baby.
Then, with the onset of cold weather, the mother arranges a lair for herself and goes into hibernation, during which she does not eat and may even oversleep the moment of birth. The teddy bear is born blind, toothless and very tiny and stays with his mother for two years, during which she will teach him the necessary life skills.

And two more videos that will make you feel the power of motherly love!

The instinct of reproduction in nature usually works not too sophisticated. It usually comes down to the fact that the male is looking for a female, spinning and spinning in front of her, walks like a gogol, or breaks off the horns of evil adversaries (and part-time competitors), shaking the spectators with his power.

When the dear lady is sufficiently impressed by the exploits of his beloved, he quickly (or not very) impregnates her, after which, waving his hand (or another limb donated by evolution) in farewell, he leaves her, setting off in search of other pretty and beloved. After that, the male no longer remembers his former love, and the fate of the offspring does not bother him at all. However, this is not always the case. There are exceptions when males of some species become caring fathers and raise their offspring with enviable patience and diligence.

Some males even bear their offspring (“mother-fathers”). And in this article, we will present our readers with the ten most caring fathers of the animal world.

1 Large Water Beetle

It is this beetle that is the most caring, one might say an exemplary mother beetle. He bears his future offspring (so far in the form of testicles) on his back until they reach a certain degree of maturity. But contacting this male is not recommended. The fact that he is a father-mommy does not mean at all that he is an uncomplaining henpecked. This beetle is capable of biting very strongly and quite painfully.

The most caring animal is the swimming beetle (Dytiscus marginalis).

2 Seahorse

This representative of the aquatic fauna is even more versatile. He gets pregnant and gives birth on his own. Seahorses have a special pouch in their belly, into which the female throws her eggs, fusing them, like a cuckoo mother, to an orphanage. The seahorse will hatch these eggs for about forty-five days. It should be noted that the number of eggs and, accordingly, embryos can reach a thousand, but can be limited to only two. Tellingly, he will give birth to them in much the same way as a human female does, that is, a woman - that is, with contractions. This is such a hard fate.

Unfortunately, at present, the number of these wonderful and unusual marine life is steadily declining due to human activities, expressed on the one hand in overfishing for gastronomic purposes and for the manufacture of souvenirs, and on the other hand due to pollution environment.

3. Pike fish

It cannot be said that this fish was one of the beautiful inhabitants of the expanses of water, but it is in this fish that the males are distinguished by an amazing nepotism. To provide his offspring with suitable conditions for growth, after the female has finished spawning, the male spreads out along the bottom, covering the eggs with his fins. At the same time, he will be in this position for a long time until the eggs ripen. Moreover, no one will risk approaching him when he is in this strange position, since everyone knows that he will not stand on ceremony and will not organize a warm welcome.

4. Toads and frogs

Everyone knows about frogs and toads, but few people know that the males of these two are so devoted to their offspring, perhaps the most known species amphibians. Separate types frogs are represented by such males that carry their tadpoles right in their mouths, which provides them with greater safety. Such miracle fathers refuse food, not accepting it until the tadpoles become capable of independent life. In addition, one of the types of toads - Pouched frog - has special pouches for carrying offspring.

5. Ikana ordinary

All the most important work in the Ikana family, it is not the mother who does it, as happens in most animals, but the father. He builds a nest and sits on the eggs and feeds the chicks. Females, on the contrary, lead a wandering, free lifestyle, flying from place to place and attracting numerous males, who, apparently, are only glad of the opportunity to become a “householder”. However, this is not yet the limit of the nepotism of the ikan. Ikana fathers who have some experience in raising offspring often help their relatives who do not yet have family experience to take care of their children.

6. Arowana

Arowana fathers carry their offspring in their mouths. Many hundreds of fry of this species develop in their father's mouth, after which the father, opening his mouth, releases it into the open ocean, now to learn life on his own. True, he does not yet give them complete freedom and constantly watches them, like a teacher from kindergarten. And if he notices an approaching danger, he immediately sucks all his cubs back into their house, that is, into his mouth.

7 Emperor Penguin

It's not easy for penguins. This is not surprising, given the harsh conditions in which these birds live. In penguins, the egg-laying female is extremely hungry for food, and cannot for a long time to incubate, therefore, immediately after laying an egg, he, in need of food, sets off on a dangerous and long journey towards the ocean, where he can eat plenty of fish and then, with renewed vigor, return to his cub and feed him. All this time, her partner stays in place, protecting the egg from fierce frosts and piercing Antarctic winds. To do this, he performs specific actions, which are most simply called "covering the egg with the hem of his fur coat." In this position, the male father spends almost the entire winter, does not eat anything and practically does not move.

If it happens that the father moves from his home or in some other way makes a mistake that reduces the amount of heat needed for the egg, then the consequences will be sad, and the penguin will die without being born - right in the egg.

Fathers of emperor penguins carefully warm and protect the eggs first, and after hatching, the little penguins.

8. Nandu (or Rhea)

Rhea is one of those birds that cannot fly and is often called the American ostrich. In fact, she is part of the order of nandu-like and, despite the really great resemblance to the ostrich, scientists still doubt that there is any kind of relationship between them. Their distribution of family roles and responsibilities is approximately the same as that of the emperor penguin - the female lays an egg, and the male incubates it. In addition, the nandu father is engaged in building a nest and incubating offspring, which will continue for another six weeks.

But his family worries do not end there. The fact is that every Nandu father contains a whole harem, which he must take care of. This harem includes twelve females, who also lay eggs. As a result, it turns out that this bird "sultan" has to incubate about fifty eggs. After the chicks hatch from under the shell, the male also does not lose interest in them and continues to take care of the hatched offspring for about six months without receiving any help from their mothers. Moreover, the male may even attack the female, who dares to approach her chicks.

9. Wolf

The male wolf is a formidable animal and has a reputation to match. However, this formidable fighting machine is an exemplary husband and father. The wolf is a pronounced monogamist, and live with their offspring for almost their entire lives. We can say that the wolf pack is a kind of family, which includes a mother wolf, a father wolf and their offspring. Of course, there are alien individuals and, so to speak, “ younger families”, but the core is the dominant family and its offspring. After the she-wolf gives birth to puppies, she remains in her den, and her wolf-husband brings the prey into the house as an exemplary head of the family and, in addition, makes sure that nothing threatens his family.

When the cubs grow up, their father will completely take over their upbringing. He will also be responsible for ensuring that there is real flock unity in the family.

10. Marmoset

Perhaps, marmosets are the cutest primates on Earth. Plus, they are very small. However, despite their more than modest size, male marmosets are more than serious about their functions as the head of the family. Together with their older brothers and other males of their tribe, the marmoset fathers raise their offspring by common efforts: they carry them on their backs, feed them and perform other functions, while the marmoset mother leaves her offspring after giving birth.

However, the family talents of the male marmoset are not limited to caring for offspring. In addition, he still carefully and skillfully takes delivery, processes the umbilical cord and cleans the newly-made mother after childbirth. It is very difficult for a tiny female marmoset to neigh due to the fact that a mature cub weighs about a quarter of her own. Fortunately, her husband knows how difficult and painful it is for his wife.

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