Father Nature: 8 Great, Super-Dedicated Animal Dads [Slide Show]

What other species' padres should we be saluting this Father's Day?

WOLVERINES: Wolverines are busy animals, roving over their broad and rugged territory to acquire food and mates. And with their ferocious, fighting reputations, they might seem the farthest thing from affectionate fathers. But recent research has shown them to be quite diligent dads. Roaming hundreds of miles a month, they often visit their two or three mates and their kits as the young'ns are nursing. Anecdotes gathered by researchers over the decades suggest that father wolverines also help out their older offspring, too, taking them along with them on sojourns for days at a time. One male wolverine known as Socks would periodically reconnect with one of his adolescent daughters, and seemed to be showing her the ropes as she learned to fend for herself in the rugged Idaho landscape. "It suggests male parental care, which in carnivores is unheard of," Jeff Copeland, of the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station, told The New York Times in 2005. Why the magnanimous behavior? "It enhances the kit['s] survival and assures [the] likelihood of passing on his genes," Copeland explained.
SEA HORSES: Sea horse (Hippocampus) dads are the emblematic animal dads, well known for stowing fertilized eggs in their brood pouches. In the pouch the offspring receive nutrients, oxygen and a cozy environment in which to grow during their 1.5- to 6.5-week stay. But the male sea horse's actions are not always selfless: As the guardian of the egg clutch, these fathers can use their role to boost the fitness of their babies—or abort a batch of them altogether. Research from 2010 found that if a male judges its female mate to be subpar, it will not direct as many nutrients toward the developing eggs that are ensconced in its pouch—and sometimes males will absorb the eggs entirely, using their nutrients as a food source. iStockphoto/dswebb
PENGUINS: With temperatures dipping below –40 degrees Celsius during the Antarctic breeding season and the females off feeding at sea, emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) dads are in charge of keeping their eggs and chicks warm. And they do it religiously each season. Recent research has looked to physics to explain how the thousands of males huddle together strategically to help share the warmth. Wikimedia Commons/Mtpaley
WATER BUGS: Insects are not often given a lot of credit for caring. But one breed of giant water bug (Abedus indentatus) father carries a heavy load. The female lays as many as 150 eggs on the male's back, which he lugs around for about a week or so until they hatch. In the interim he seems to tend the eggs by cleaning them off, making sure they get enough air and, of course, scuttling away from potential predators. Wikimedia Commons/noisecollection is really tired
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FOXES: Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) fathers are extremely attentive dads in the first few months after their pups are born. As the mother remains in the den with the newborns, the fox dad heads out to hunt and brings back food for the whole family at least a few times each day. These reynards also seem to be keen on keeping young pups active, having been observed playing with them and leading them around their territory. Wikimedia Commons/Keven Law
CATFISH: Many species of fish have been known to eat the eggs of their own offspring. The male sea catfish (Ariidae family) also gobbles up his mate's eggs, but instead of ingesting them, he keeps them safe in his mouth for months at a time. Not satisfied to let his progeny out into the treacherous waters immediately, he may retain them until they are nearly five centimeters long. All the while, he must forgo any food for fear of accidentally eating one of his own brood. Wikimedia Commons/Jeffdelonge
RHEAS: Greater rheas (Rhea americana) spread their fathering work widely in their flock. After mating with multiple females—who each lay eggs in the male's nest—the dad-to-be will sit on dozens of eggs for more than a month. When his baby mammas' chicks hatch, he protects and feeds them as they grow up. Wikimedia Commons/LadyofHats
MARMOSETS: People are not the only primates who step up big time to help rear their young. Marmoset (from the family Callitrichidae) dads share in many of the daily duties of parenting, including grooming, feeding and carrying the babies. Research has suggested that these activities help boost connections in the brain. A 2005 study in Hormones and Behavior also found these animals to be especially faithful family men. Whereas unattached male marmosets' testosterone spiked when they smelled an ovulating female, those males that had babies showed hardly any hormonal change. Wikimedia Commons/Dario Sanches
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