You know it's the parents job to take good care of their babies.
It takes a lot of work to keep them healthy and happy!
But what about animal parents?
How do they raise their little ones?
Here's the story of some animal parents that might surprise you!
Elephants
Now that's a BIIIG baby!
Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, so it's not surprising that their
babies are huge, too.
Newborn elephants are around a meter tall, and can weigh over 100 kg.
It takes 2 years for a baby elephant to develop before they are born.
A baby elephant is called a calf.
They stick close to their mothers, nursing for up to six years after they are born.
But elephant moms don't do it all on their own.
They say it takes a village to raise a child.
That's definitely true for elephants.
The whole herd pitches in to take care of its newest member.
Elephant herds are matriarchies, which means the oldest female elephant is usually in charge.
Sort of like a queen.
The female elephants in the family all stay close together and help raise each other's
babies.
An elephant family usually consists of a mother, her sisters, her daughters, and all the baby
calves.
Meanwhile, the male elephants live on the edges of the herd, and sometimes go off on
their own.
They young males sometimes spar with each other.
But when a mother and father elephant are expecting a baby, the dad stays close to the
mom, protecting her.
When an elephant is born, the females in the herd gather around, trumpeting and welcoming
the new arrival.
The elephant mom helps her calf stand up so it can nurse.
Like human babies, elephant calves need lots of help.
For instance, they don't really know what to do with their trunks!
The elephant mom and the others in the herd have to teach the calf how to use its trunk
to pick up things.
They show the baby elephant all the good watering holes, how to drink and spray itself, and
what is good to eat.
One interesting lesson the elephant calf learns is how to cover itself with mud - which might
act as sunscreen.
Look at how the herd keeps the baby elephants protected, by mixing them in amongst the huge
grownups.
What a nice family.
Orangutans
Orangutan mothers have the difficult job of being a single parent.
And their cute little babies need LOTS of care.
Maybe that's why they only have a baby once every eight years or so.
It takes a looong time to raise each little orangutan so it can live on its own.
Most wild orangutans live in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.
They spend most of their time up in the trees!
They don't really form permanent families.
A male and female come together to mate.
The male leaves soon after.
Nine months later, there's a new little orangutan, and the female orangutan takes
care of the baby on her own - sometimes with the help of a sister.
For the first four months of its life, the mother orangutan carries the baby EVERYWHERE,
never putting it down.
Orangutan infants are completely dependent on their moms for the first two years of their
lives.
The most important job for the mother orangutan is to teach her baby what is safe to eat.
Orangutans eat mostly fruit from the rainforest trees.
But they will also eat bark and leaves, insects, honey, and bird eggs.
Some orangutans have been seen using twigs as tools to reach insects, and they teach
their children this clever trick.
Most of the orangutan day is spent feeding and resting, and traveling from tree to tree.
When nighttime comes, the orangutan builds a nest up in a tree.
This is another important lesson that mother orangutans teach their babies.
The young orangutan learns by watching their mother build an elaborate nest.
Starting at around 6 months, the orangutan youngster imitates their mom.
They pick a tree, and pull branches together, braiding them to form a strong base for their
bed.
Then they bend over some smaller branches with leaves, to make a mattress.
Some orangutans even add blankets and pillows!
What a good mom.
Ducks
Quack Quack waddle waddle.
Sounds like a duck... and walks like a duck...
Must be a duck!
Do you know how these birds take care of their babies?
First, remember that birds lay eggs.
Ducks spend most of their time on the water, swimming around and diving for food.
But when it comes time to have babies, they find a safe spot on land to make a nest.
This usually happens once a year.
Before mating, ducks build a nest together in a small hole on the ground near the water,
usually protected by tall grass.
The female duck plucks some of her own feathers to line the nest.
So cozy!
The mother duck then lays one egg a day until there are about a dozen eggs in the soft nest.
Sometimes the father duck stays to help guard the eggs.
But it's often left up to the mom to take care of her babies.
The mother duck sits on the nest for up to 23 hours a day, keeping her eggs safe and
warm.
We call this "brooding."
Her collection of eggs is called a "brood."
After about a month, they HATCH!
The little duckling inside the egg starts tapping with a sharp bump on their bill called
an EGG TOOTH.
Small cracks appear in the eggshells, and the little duckling works its way out of the
shell.
It's important that the newborn ducklings see their mom when they are born, because
of something called IMPRINTING.
This means that the babies become attached to the first moving object they see, and will
follow it everywhere!
This sometimes leads to funny situations on a farm.
After all the ducks hatch, the mother duck usually spends one more night sitting on the
nest, keeping the new hatchlings warm and safe.
The very next day, the mother duck leads her ducklings to the water, and immediately starts
teaching her babies how to find food.
Remember, unlike mammals, birds don't nurse.
The ducklings eat a variety of food within a couple of days after hatching - including
grasses, worms, insects, and fish.
They follow their mother closely, watching her every move.
Ducklings grow up fast.
Within two weeks, they start to look and act like little grown up ducks.
By imitating their mom, they learn how to swim, dive down for food, and eventually even
fly.
Kangaroos
The kangaroo is a very special kind of animal parent.
It's a marsupial!
Marsupials are mammals that give birth to their young when they are still very small.
The babies, called joeys, are not ready to live on their own.
So they crawl up into a pouch on their mother's tummy, and finish developing there.
Kangaroo pregnancies only last about a month.
When a kangaroo joey is first born, it's about the size of a small grape.
It's so small, it can't even nurse on its own, so the mama kangaroo pumps milk into
her baby's mouth.
By the time the joey is about 8 months old, it's ready to peek out from the pouch and
start exploring the world.
Joeys stay close to their moms, learning how to find food like grass and leaves - but still
returning to the pouch to nurse.
The joey nuzzles up to its mom when it wants in.
The mother and baby kangaroos are very cuddly with each other - with the mother grooming
her young.
After a few months, the mom says "you're all grown up now, and ready to live on your
own."
They still spend a lot of time together, though.
Most kangaroos live together in family groups of up to about 50.
Would you believe the female kangaroo has another baby right away?
This is one of the most amazing things about kangaroos.
As soon as a kangaroo mom gives birth, she mates again, except this next baby won't
be born after a month like her first one.
Instead, it stays as a small ball of cells until the first joey leaves the pouch.
Then the rest of the pregnancy continues.
Here's an unusual sight - twin kangaroo joeys!
Is there even room in the pouch for those two?
Oh!
Guess so.
Now THAT'S a busy mom.
Now, we've seen a lot of animal MOMS taking care of their babies.
What about the DADS?
Isn't there an animal DAD whose job it is to take care of his babies?
Here's one.
PENGUINS.
Most penguins lay one or two eggs, and the mom and dad share brooding, taking turns sitting
on the eggs to keep them warm, while their mate goes off to eat.
But Emperor Penguin dads do ALL the incubation duties.
These birds live in Antarctica, where it is incredibly cold.
It's a tough job, keeping eggs warm and safe in this hostile environment.
Female emperor penguins lay only one egg at a time.
That's a pretty big egg!
But actually, compared with the size of the mother, it's pretty small.
Penguin eggs have extra thick shells to prevent them from breaking during the handoff from
mom to dad.
The male emperor penguin keeps the egg warm by balancing it on top of his feet and letting
the egg rest in his brood pouch, which is a very warm fold of skin and feathers.
All the males stand together, protecting their eggs, for around 65 days.
The dads take turns standing on the outside of the group so none of them gets too cold.
During this time, the father penguins don't eat at all.
But the moms go hunting, feasting on fish.
By the time the chicks hatch, the mothers return from feeding.
The moms regurgitate some chewed up fish for the newly hatched chicks.
Yum!
Now it's time for the males to go out hunting.
They must be starving!
The mother penguins take over the care of the chicks.
The penguin chicks look quite different from their parents, with fuzzy feathers that almost
look like fur.
Once the baby penguins are big enough, both parents can go off fishing.
The group of chicks left on their own is called a creche.
They huddle together to stay warm while their parents are hunting.
Both the mother and father return to feed their chicks with the fish they caught.
You know it's time for a penguin to grow up when it starts losing its baby feathers.
That's when their parents stop feeding them.
Pretty soon, it's warm enough for the ice to melt close to the young penguins, and they
learn to swim and fish on their own.
These are some pretty dedicated animal parents.
Of course, there are lots of animals who grow up never knowing their mom or dad.
Most insects, fish, and amphibians lay hundreds of eggs, and leave them behind to develop
on their own.
There are some exceptions, however, like...the seahorse!
This unusual looking fish has a very special way of taking care of its babies.
The male seahorse has a pouch on the front of his tail.
When mating, the female seahorse deposits over a thousand eggs in the male's pouch.
The seahorse dad carries the eggs everywhere he goes.
The pouch provides oxygen and nutrients, and a safe environment for the developing seahorses.
Every morning, the mom comes by to check on her mate.
Awww.
After about a month, the eggs hatch, and the tiny seahorse babies come out.
Thanks, dad!
Those were just a few amazing animal parents.
Do you know any other interesting animal parents?
Tell us about it in the comments below!
We want to hear from YOU!
Now it's time to watch another video about animals from Socratica Kids.
You get to pick!
You might like this one, about unusual animal baby names!
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