How do you define a good mother? Someone who is fully devoted to her young ones and willing to go to any extreme to keep them away from danger? In the animal kingdom, mothers of certain species share this notion but perform it in different ways. A famous American author once said, “There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.” Some animals protect their progeny in ways that don’t sit well with our definition of motherhood. Sometimes, mothers have to make harsh decisions to survive in the wild. Not just for their young ones, but for themselves too. And as we know, in the wild, it’s not just about the survival of the fittest, but also the smartest, and often the fastest, takes the front seat. Let’s look into the different styles of parenting across diverse species. The last one listed shows the least expected form of a mother’s love.
1. Sea Turtles
Female sea turtles invest significant energy during the nesting season to continue the next generation and prevent their population from collapsing. They cross thousands of miles of the ocean to reach the nesting sites. Mother turtles generally lay eggs in four to seven nests on the beach with around 80 to 120 eggs in each. Laying such an immense quantity of eggs is to ensure that as many as possible can survive to counteract the threat of predators faced by hatchlings as they scurry towards the sea. The pit dug out by the mother offers the eggs an incubation period lasting around 60 days, and after laying the eggs, she leaves, never to return to it. And so, the hatchlings are born entirely independent. Relying on their inherent instinct, the baby turtles immediately turn to the waters, and those who survive now have to swim past hunters of the sea, and lead a solo life.
2. Cuckoos
Cuckoos are known as brood parasites. They are quite clever to make sure their young ones are cared for, without investing the energy of creating a nest and bringing them up. Cuckoo mothers free themselves from parental duties by laying their eggs in a host bird’s nest. The host birds then become responsible for raising the cuckoo’s eggs as their own. However, it doesn’t stop there. The cuckoo chick often hatches early, only to push the host’s eggs out of the nest, securing all the food for itself.
3. Rabbits
Ever come across a rabbit’s nest containing the rabbit’s babies? Chances are the mother is nowhere to be found. But don’t judge her. The mother rabbits (known as does) avoid constant visits to the nest because they have a strong scent that could attract the predators, unlike their young ones who have no scent yet. They provide temporary but special attention to their kids, known as kits or kittens, and feed them their nutritious milk only once or twice a day. Does camouflage their nests well as shallow depressions that are filled with dry grass, leaves, and with her own fur!
4. Harp Seals
Found in the icy waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, harp seal mothers manage to prepare their pups for the ocean in just two weeks! But before that, they need to migrate thousands of miles from the northern feeding grounds to the southern breeding grounds. Once they reach their breeding grounds, they search and carefully select the most stable ice pack to ensure the safety of their pups until they are ready to dive right into the ocean. When the pups are born, they are white and furry, and weigh around 10 kg. The mothers feed their pups high fat milk for around 12 days, which helps them gain more weight with each passing day. By the end of the nursing period, the pups develop a thick layer of blubber and weigh around 25 kg. They also reach the weaning stage at this time. Seal mothers leave them on ice to continue breeding. Pups remain there for another six weeks, during which time they shed their white coat and grow a grey coat with black patches. They soon are ready to finally dive into the water and migrate to the feeding grounds.
5. Panda
For panda mothers, it becomes difficult to take care of their offspring, especially when twins are delivered. Keeping two blind and immobile cubs alive when her only source of energy is bamboo, which is low in calories and protein, affects milk production, making it insufficient. With high demanding attention required, the mother tries to focus on the cub which is stronger, is more responsive and therefore, has a better chance of survival.
6. Common Hoopoe
Hoopoe birds are very specific about their nesting sites. Being birds that largely feed on insects from the ground, they look for areas where there’s an abundance of food along with a naturally occurring cavity where they can build their nests. They lay around five to eight eggs in a single clutch, which gives the species a hope for survival. The hoopoe mother stays in the nest and incubates the eggs and the chicks that have already hatched, while the hoopoe father brings food for the mother as well as the chicks. The mothers tend to be biased towards the larger chicks, as they promise more reproductive value than the smaller ones.
7. Dracula Ants
Beneath the soils of the forests of Madagascar, lives a range of ant species that are commonly known as “dracula ants”. One such species is Adetomyrma venatrix, the first species discovered to be involved in non-destructive cannibalism. In this kind of cannibalism, the ants wound and suck the haemolymph, the fluid circulating in the body of their own larvae, without actually killing them. The larvae eventually grow into adults, with scars on their bodies. It is believed that the ants provide the larvae with other insects and arthropods as food, while the larvae’s haemolymph becomes a significant source of food for the ant community within their nest during times of stress.
8. Octopus
Deep in the ocean lies the profound depth of motherhood, one where the mother devotes her last ounce of strength to secure her clutch of eggs. The mother octopus locates her spot in a shallow den, and deposits her eggs on its walls. Her sole duty now is to protect the eggs, and to do so, she never leaves them. Her maternal behaviour involves blowing water over the eggs to keep them hydrated and cleaning them to keep algae and bacteria off them. What’s fascinating is that she willingly gives up fending food for herself so as to constantly remain next to her eggs. Her starvation can last for months, and in some cases, for years! For example, in the case of Graneledone boreopacifica, mothers are known to guard their eggs for as long as four and a half years. During this period, the mother starts to lose weight and turn pale, eventually triggering startling self-destructive hormones.
Survival is the motto of life in the wild, and it is difficult to live up to. Motherhood among animals has its own unique guidelines to ensure that the young thrive and carry on the legacy of the species. In these changing times, motherhood too is evolving amidst modified habitats and climate change with strategies that can best help their offspring to survive. And Mother Nature’s own health will be key in dictating the terms.
Wishing all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day.
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