The Coolest Animal Dads, Part 1 of 2

Being a father is one of the toughest jobs in the world, and their love is often underrated. It takes a tremendous amount of work and caring to be a good dad for both humans and animals alike. In this two-part program, I will introduce some of the greatest animal papas I know of, who demonstrate the essence of fatherhood through their dedication and sacrifices for their young. The first great fathers in the animal kingdom to discuss are the red fox dads. In March, when the babies are born, the father shares the burden of raising the new arrivals. While the mother stays in the den to nurse and care for the babies, he will bring her food every four to six hours. When the cubs start coming out of their abode to explore the world, dad will play as well as groom and lick them to show his affection. Once the young foxes grow bigger, he stops delivering food to them. This is daddy’s tough love, even though it’s hard for him to do. He hides food nearby, and covers it with twigs and leaves, to train his young cubs to forage it for themselves. Eventually, dad begins to take his offspring on trips to teach them the survival skills needed for life. As you can see, dad red foxes love their little ones as much as their mothers. What attentive and indulgent fathers they are! Male seahorses, and male pipefish and seadragons who are close relatives, are the most well-known and extraordinary fathers of the animal kingdom, as they are the only males that undergo pregnancy. A seahorse dad can carry up to 2,000 eggs for 2 to 4 weeks in his belly pouch and does similar things that a human mother does. This pouch operates very much the same as a human mom’s uterus, providing the embryos with nutrients and oxygen, removing their wastes, supplying antibacterial molecules, and regulating the blood flow, salinity, and temperature levels for the little ones. When the young seahorses are ready to be born, their father gives birth through energetically-costly muscular contractions, just like human mothers. As a dedicated and adorable caring father, seahorse dads truly deserve a cool daddy recognition!