How Animals Care for Their Young: Parenting Styles in the Animal World
ANimal childhooD Have you ever wondered what the childhood of animals looks like How their parents take care of them so that they’re safe from enemies but at the same time can learn everything necessary Well it’s the same as with people Animal babies too are often defenseless and dependent on the care provided by adults Mammals rank as the most attentive parents because they feed their young with milk but fish reptiles amphibians birds and insects also have some diligent parents And by the same token you can find some mammals who don’t look after their young very well HERE THEY ARE Who will take care of us When it comes to animals fathers usually don’t take part in rearing their young They simply produce offspring with their chosen partner and then go after their business Mothers are left to provide all the care education and rearing However there are couples that divide the care equally among themselves Penguins for example do it quite cleverly Good exceptions also include seahorses the males carry their young in their pouch until hatching I LEARNED HOW TO WALK WHEN I WAS A YEAR AND A HALF OLD WELL I WAS ABOUT AN HOUR OLD IT WOULD BE GREAT IF MY HUSBAND LOOKED AFTER OUR BABIES THIS WELL Memories of childhood An animal's childhood can last entire years for example with chimpanzees or mere months and weeks It depends on many factors how developed the offspring is at birth what its environment is whether a parent or an entire group takes care of it or what parents want to pass on to it before it grows up For example the young of marsupials are born undeveloped and must spend a significant amount of time in their mother’s pouch where they drink milk and grow stronger On the other hand the young of zebras and giraffes can walk within an hour of being born otherwise they’d be unable to get by in the rough savanna 2
THE PARENT OF THE YEAR AWARD How many of you are there The young’s upbringing often depends on whether the animals live alone or in a group The lonely ones meet their partner only for mating otherwise they arrange everything on their own For example alligator mothers rely only on themselves Others live in groups and help each other with rearing the young grandmas sisters older brothers even aunts twice removed lend a helping hand That’s how elephants wolves or meerkats do it they divide tasks among each other which protects them from danger AND THIS IS MY AUNT WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO CATCH MYSELF A SNACK A skink eats its own eggs YIKES Providing protection Bad parenting Not every animal mom is diligent and loving Some abandon their young as soon as they are born There are even those who eat their own children As horrible as this may seem there’s a reasonable explanation for everything Many young are born developed with innate instincts that tell them what to do But sometimes a baby animal is born at a time when the mother can’t get enough food or the baby is weak and sick and wouldn’t survive for long In that case it may happen that the parent steps in Getting food The approach to upbringing Most parents try to pass on to their offspring everything they’ll need once they grow up getting food defending themselves from enemies or taking care of their own young Some parents such as chimpanzees or oystercatchers show their children how to crack a nut or open a shell Cubs of many predators fight and tease each other to practice fighting and hunting The main thing is that they keep all these things in mind Maintaining relationships 3
Shaggy Shabby Swell Changing of the guards Hurray Mom has arrived That’s a sign for the dad the guards has changed and now he can go out to look for food himself Since he lost almost half his body weight during the mom’s absence he’s looking forward to his trip indeed Meanwhile moms give the tiny penguins their first real meal pieces of the fish they’ve caught FAAAAAALIIING MEEE TOOO Pulling together When penguin puberty is over which is about six months after the birth the young stop getting their food from their mothers Time to jump into the sea They slide on their bellies into the water and go hunting alongside their parents They’ve learned much from them already and thus are great swimmers and divers Before long they’ll pass on their knowledge to their own children BYE-BYE First steps As soon as the tots are too big to fit into the mom’s brood pouch they must take a step toward their new life literally In order to stretch their legs they practice walking on the mom’s toes at first They’re unstable just like all toddlers Fortunately their down softens all falls Before the kids gain some confidence they mimic the mom’s style After that they scamper around like pros Problems of adolescence While they're growing up penguins change in front of your very eyes The cute fluffy ball turns into a molting punk rocker and then into a dandy in a waterproof coat Molting as this change is called happens several times 5
