Amazing Animal Dads

Every third Sunday in June, we celebrate Father’s Day. It’s a day for human dads, but animal dads deserve their due too!

One extreme animal dad is the seahorse. It’s the male, not the female, that becomes pregnant and gives birth. The process starts with a mating dance, where the pair swims from the ocean floor toward the surface. The dance ends when the female deposits her eggs into the male’s brood pouch. This is a pocket of skin on the male’s belly. There, the eggs are fertilized and develop. It takes from 9 to 45 days for the eggs to hatch, depending on the species and the water temperature.

When it’s time to give birth, the male seahorse spews baby seahorses into the water. But that’s where a dad seahorse’s duties end. “In fact, if the babies hang around for too long, the dad will eat them!” says Camilla Whittington, a biologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. Turn the page to meet three other amazing animal dads!

Father’s Day is the third Sunday in June. It’s a day for human dads, but animal dads deserve their due too! 

One extreme animal dad is the seahorse. The male, not the female, becomes pregnant and gives birth. The process starts with a mating dance. The seahorses swim from the ocean floor toward the surface. The dance ends when the female deposits her eggs into the male’s brood pouch. This is a pocket of skin on the male’s belly. The eggs are fertilized there and develop. The eggs hatch 9 to 45 days later. Exactly when depends on the species and water temperature.

Then it’s time to give birth. The male seahorse spews baby seahorses into the water. That’s when the dad seahorse’s duties end. “The dad will eat the babies if they hang around for too long!” says Camilla Whittington. She’s a biologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. Read on to meet three other amazing animal dads!

Every year, these birds go on an epic trek across Antarctica. Emperor penguins leave the coast and walk about 50 miles to their inland breeding grounds in March. By June, the mother penguin lays a single egg, carefully transfers it to the father penguin, and then returns to the sea to feed. Over the next 65 days, the father penguin keeps the egg warm in a pouch of skin above his feet until it hatches. When the mother penguin returns, it’s Dad’s turn to get food!

Emperor penguins go on an epic trek across Antarctica every year. They leave the coast in March and walk 50 miles inland to their breeding grounds. By June, the mother penguin lays just one egg. She carefully transfers it to the father penguin. Then she returns to the sea to feed. Over the next 65 days, the father penguin keeps the egg warm. He has a special pouch of skin above his feet. The egg stays there until it hatches. When the mother penguin returns, Dad goes to get food!

This monkey species lives in South America. The mother typically has twins or triplets, so she needs help! For the first two weeks of the babies’ lives, their father carries the young on his back, bringing them to mom to feed them. Older siblings will also help care for their new siblings.

This monkey species lives in South America. The mother usually has twins or triplets, so she needs help! For the first two weeks of the babies’ lives, their father carries the young on his back. He brings them to mom to feed them. Older siblings help care for their new siblings.

Living in the streams and rivers of Chile and Argentina, these frogs burp up their babies! First the father slurps the fertilized eggs into his mouth. He stores them in a pouch called the vocal sac. There the frogs grow from tadpoles into baby frogs. After about two months, the dad spits them out of his mouth fully developed!

These frogs from Chile and Argentina burp up their babies! They live in streams and rivers. First, the father slurps the fertilized eggs into his mouth. He stores them in a pouch called the vocal sac. The frogs grow from tadpoles into baby frogs there. After about two months, the dad spits fully developed frogs out of his mouth!