Most Protective Fathers of the Animal Kingdom
Lion The male lion really steps up and becomes ferociously protective of his pride, which can consist of 30 or more lionesses and cubs. When he senses a threat, his fatherly intuition kicks in and he does anything and everything to ensure the safety of his family.
Gorilla A typical gorilla father is in charge of a clan as large as 30 gorillas. He is responsible for finding food for his group, which is a big job seeing as gorillas typically eat up to 50 pounds of food per day!
Red Fox Male red foxes are doting and indulgent dads, and they enjoy playing and roughhousing with their pups, as most dads do. While the pups are young, the father hunts every day, providing a food delivery service to the den for the cubs and their mother.
African Wild Dog Just like the puppies of domesticated dogs, African wild dog pups are extremely active and expend quite a few calories throughout the day. Since the pups are unable to eat solid foods until they are about ten weeks old, their father will swallow their food and then regurgitate the softer version for the pups to eat, making sure they get enough nourishment.
Golden Lion Tamarin By two weeks old, the golden lion tamarin infants are carried on their father’s back nearly 24/7. Dad hands them over to their mother one at a time every two to three hours, then she nurses the baby for around 15 minutes and hands it back to its father.
Greater Flamingo Male flamingos are all around good guys. Even while congregating in a flock of thousands of birds, these guys remain monogamous, mating with one special gal for life. Flamingo dads are also feminists, as they wholeheartedly believe in gender equality, which is rare in the animal kingdom.
Frog and toad Collectively, most frog and toad species have some pretty dedicated dads. Some male frogs keep their tadpoles in their mouths until the tadpoles are able to make it on their own.
Seahorse Male seahorses go above and beyond when it comes to parenting—they are one of the only species in the animal kingdom known for male pregnancy! That’s right, the moms deposit their eggs into the male seahorse’s pouch, then he fertilizes and incubates them for 45 days until they are born as full-on tiny seahorses.
Emperor penguin Emperor penguin dads are some of the most dedicated animal fathers out there. By the time the female lays her egg, she’s expended so much energy that her nutritional reserves become exhausted, and she must set out to sea for two months to feed.