This Mother’s Day, we’re celebrating all the mamas of the Animal Kingdom… From the furry to the scaly, here are some Amazing Animal Moms!
Orangutans spend their lives living up in the trees… Mama Orangutans build a brand new nest every night out of branches and leaves, for herself and her baby to sleep in. That’s more than 30,000 new nests in a lifetime!
Mama Orangutans also almost never put their babies down for the first two years. The bond between mom & baby orangutan is so strong that the young orangutans continue “visiting” their moms well into their lives.
Elephant mothers and babies have especially strong social bonds. After a 22 month pregnancy, baby elephants stay close to their mothers, and live along side them for about 16 years! Moms work together with the other female elephants in the herd to help raise and protect each others’ children…it truly takes a village of moms to raise a baby elephant!
Giraffe babies weigh 100-150 pounds and are 6 feet tall when born! With their mothers’ encouragement, they begin walking within 30 minutes. Moms of newborn giraffes get only about 30 minutes of sleep per day since they are so busy guarding their calves…now that’s dedication!
Meerkats primarily eat venomous scorpions—yikes! Mama meerkats teach their babies how to hunt by catching a scorpion, injuring it to disable its stinger, and giving it to the babies to practice hunting without getting stung.
Newborn baby Bottlenose Dolphins have a hard time keeping up with their mothers, so mothers create a wake while swimming that draws the babies alongside them effortlessly. Each mother dolphin has her own signature whistle, which is basically like saying her own name. If a baby gets lost, she’ll whistle so that the baby can find her again.
Alligator moms build a nest of vegetation around their eggs. As the vegetation starts to decompose, it generates heat that keeps the eggs warm until they hatch (it’s basically a cozy compost pile!) When the little gators crack out of their eggs, Alligator moms carry the tiny babies in their jaws for protection! Who knew these ferocious fangs could be so gentle?