Here’s How Animals Protect Their Babies
Transcript
00:00 How far would you go to protect your own children?
00:02 There's no greater instinct on earth than a parent's drive to protect its offspring.
00:07 After all, it's what ensures our very survival on this very planet.
00:12 For most humans, this means feeding them, clothing them,
00:17 and teaching them to look both ways before crossing the road.
00:20 But what's it look like in the wild?
00:23 Take a look at this parent protecting its kids.
00:28 Is that an eight-legged bird or what? Stick around for number one to find out.
00:33 Welcome to another episode of Forever Green.
00:36 Today, we're looking at some of the most incredible and unusual ways
00:40 animals make sure their children survive. Let's get started.
00:44 Number 10. Octopi
00:57 For you ladies out there, how strong is your maternal instinct?
01:00 Would you be able to slowly starve yourself to death just to help your children survive?
01:05 Well, female octopi almost always do.
01:08 A female octopus lays anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 eggs while in labor.
01:14 To guarantee their survival, she'll then separate those eggs into subgroups
01:18 based upon factors like size, shape, and yes, their likelihood of survival.
01:23 She then spends the next two or so months of her life protecting them from predators
01:27 and ensuring her young get enough oxygen to fight off harmful bacteria by constantly
01:32 pushing water currents towards her eggs. She is so occupied with keeping them alive,
01:38 she doesn't even have time to feed herself,
01:40 which is why she often ends up passing away shortly after they hatch.
01:45 If you thought breastfeeding was a pain,
01:46 this tentacle creature might have you rethinking your sacrifice.
01:50 Number 9. Pandas
01:56 Did you know, after marsupials like koalas and kangaroos,
02:02 pandas have the highest offspring-to-parent ratio? Newborns weigh a mere 3 to 5 ounces,
02:08 about the size of a stick of butter, and far less than a human baby. Those are some jaw-dropping
02:13 numbers. Considering mom weighs in at about 300 pounds when giving birth, in addition to being
02:19 tiny, panda cubs are also born blind. They're so fragile, they should almost be kept like kangaroos
02:26 in a pouch. Caring for such helpless and fragile infants requires a lot of effort and attention,
02:31 which is why panda moms cradle their cubs almost constantly for months on end.
02:40 If ever you wanted to put their cute and cuddly nature to the test
02:44 and pat a panda, you'd best not try when mom's just had a baby.
02:47 Number 8. Cowbirds
02:57 Speak of efficiency and selfish parenting, mama cowbirds raise their babies with surrogates,
03:08 forced ones. That's right, when a brown-headed cowbird is ready to lay eggs,
03:12 she'll literally deposit them inside another bird's nest. It's a good thing it only takes
03:18 her a few seconds to lay eggs. She doesn't abandon them or anything, though. The mother
03:23 stays close to ensure that the other bird feeds them and takes care of them, or else,
03:27 she will attack their nest, practically forcing them to raise their kids for her.
03:31 Number 7. Emperor penguins
03:39 With babies that cute, it's no wonder emperor penguins will go to great lengths to care for
03:44 their offspring. Check this out. Giving birth, female emperor penguins will actually leave
03:49 their family behind to go replenish at sea for almost two months. It may seem selfish at first,
03:54 but after a long and hard pregnancy, she needs to rebuild her strength so she can later redirect her
04:00 energy towards her newborn. While she's out feeding and regenerating her body, the male
04:04 emperor penguin is left to take on all the parental responsibilities. For two months, the father will
04:10 carry his egg around on his feet and, just like the female octopus, completely forego eating until
04:15 the mother returns. When she does, just like birds, she'll regurgitate some of her pre-digested food
04:20 for the baby, while the father now takes his turn out at sea. This back and forth goes on
04:26 until the baby is strong enough to feed on its own. Speak of cooperative parenting.
04:33 Number 6 - Alligators
04:35 Although they are known as cold-blooded, ferocious hunters,
04:41 mother alligators are surprisingly warm and caring toward their babies during the beginning
04:46 stages of their lives. After spending 9 to 10 weeks protecting her eggs, she stays with her
04:51 hatchlings for at least the first year of their lives. For the most part, she's protecting her
04:56 babies from other gators looking for a snack. A lot of the time, this means gathering her kids
05:01 into her mouth. Yep, those huge snouts with sharp teeth are good for much more than just hunting
05:15 and feeding. If ever you want to test how serious an alligator mom is about her babies,
05:20 why not try patting one while they're in her mouth?
05:22 Before we move on, here's a quick challenge for you. If you can leave a like on this video,
05:30 smash that subscribe button, and turn on the notifications in less than 5 seconds,
05:34 you will have 10 years of amazing luck. Hurry up and try it, it actually works!
05:39 Number 5 - Tree Kangaroos
05:46 What's safer for a baby than staying inside mama's pouch? Staying in a pouch on a tree,
05:53 of course. Unlike your average kangaroo, tree kangaroos live in mountainous cloud
05:58 forests at elevations of up to 11,000 feet. They spend most of their time in trees,
06:03 where they feed mostly on leaves, ferns, moss, and bark. Like regular kangaroos,
06:09 female tree kangaroos give birth to one offspring at a time.
06:12 After birth, the tiny baby, often called a joey, crawls to a teat located inside the mother's pouch,
06:27 where it attaches itself to nurse for up to a year. The mother will regularly clean her pouch
06:32 and groom her infant throughout the whole phase. The baby only begins leaving her pouch at about
06:36 8 months, but will keep coming back to nurse and spend some quality time with mom. This in
06:41 and out phase is transitional and lasts for 1 or 2 months before they are weaned off of mom.
06:46 Even then, they continue to stay with mom for about another half of a year,
06:50 until they finally disperse and establish their own home range.
06:54 4. Elephants
07:00 As the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. Never is this ringed more true
07:08 than with elephants. Unlike other animals you've seen so far, baby elephants end up being watched
07:14 over by an entire herd of mothers. This takes the load off of its actual mother, who needs time to
07:19 replenish from her long pregnancy to provide milk for her newborn. The term for the other female
07:24 elephants is "all mothers", all of whom take turns watching over each other's children.
07:28 And hey, it makes perfect sense. After carrying around a nearly 300-pound baby for over 20 months,
07:41 you'd probably need some time off too.
07:43 3. Spiders
07:52 This may come as a surprise, but spiders can actually make great moms. While several species
07:59 of spiders show varying levels of parental care, the South American Mesobolobar or Anticus has
08:05 proven to be a super spider mom. While pregnant, the colorful mom-to-be holds her egg sac constantly
08:11 in her jaws until it hatches, completely foregoing food until it's time for her young to hatch.
08:16 Meanwhile, wolf spider moms carry their egg sacs on their silk-producing organs for safekeeping.
08:22 Once the little spiderlings hatch, they ride around on mom's back until they're
08:25 ready to shed their skin and quite literally get off mom's back. Speak of sacrifice.
08:30 2. Meerkats
08:44 Did you know poisonous scorpion is a staple in the diet of a South African meerkat?
08:52 Yup, cute and harmless as they may seem, these critters regularly feed on these stinging
08:57 creatures. But it takes a while to learn how to handle the dangerous prey. That's why moms and
09:02 the rest of the family act as patient tutors to their newborn pups, teaching them how to
09:07 carefully deal with the venomous arachnids. For instance, adults will injure scorpions and
09:12 disable their stingers before passing on the still-living prey to older pups so they can
09:16 practice. What a clever way to school, protect, and feed your young at the same time.
09:22 Before we look at number 1, we have a little challenge for you. Go ahead and like this video
09:36 and comment down below. We want to see if you can balance the number of likes against the number of
09:41 comments. And go! Be sure to check out other amazing videos on our channel and give us a like
09:51 if you enjoyed this video so far. Tell us in comments which one of these you like the most and why.
09:57 1. Jakana Birds
10:03 Aside from being the only eight-legged bird on the planet,
10:08 jakanas are also special for their parenting style. Jokes aside, those aren't eight legs.
10:14 Back in 2015, a South African jakana was spotted as he scooped up his newborns after sensing danger,
10:20 leaving just the youngster's legs dangling out of his feathers. Believe it or not,
10:25 male jakanas perform all the nesting duties and care for the babies from eggs to chicks.
10:29 An African jakana male cares for its chicks until they are anywhere from 40 to 70 days old.
10:36 2. Predator
10:43 Submerged into dad's feathers, the jakana chicks remain well-protected,
10:47 and their brighter yellow tones become invisible to any nearby predator on the lookout for food.
10:53 What did you think of the animal parenting styles? Would you use any of these on your own kids?
10:59 Be sure to let us know in the comments below. Oh, and if you liked this video,
11:04 you're definitely going to want to check out the video on our screen.