Top Dads

written by Deborah S.

You might be familiar with some of the better-known dads of the animal kingdom, such as the Emperor penguin, where the father incubates eggs and cares for newborns, while the mother leaves to gather sustenance. Or, perhaps seahorse papas, which, unlike almost all other species, carry eggs in a pouch until birth.

There are some lesser-known dads out there that I’d like to highlight, some of whom include attributes that top human dads mimic!

First up, marmosets.

These small, adorable monkeys are mostly native to South America and lead active lives jumping around in trees. Come baby time, a mating pair sticks together, sometimes for multiple litters. Males join their mate during birth and even aid in the process. They help to clean up the afterbirth and even cut umbilical cords with their teeth! They then take on the brunt of the infant care while the mother recovers.

Some human dads take cues from marmosets!

Maybe not the jumping around trees part, but being there for childbirth and working hard while the mother recovers. My husband was an immeasurable aid during the birth of my two children. Luckily, unlike marmosets, he didn’t have to cut umbilical cords with his teeth!

Another lesser-known animal, the gharial, is also an involved dad.

These Indian fish-eating crocodiles are best identified by their unique snout shape: long and thin with a little bulb on the end. Not unusually, males will defend nests, protecting eggs until they hatch. However, these fathers go a step further, hanging around after birth and even becoming taxi drivers to miniature versions of themselves.

That’s a lot of babies to carry! Thank goodness they’re small.

Human children love riding on backs and shoulders, too, but I’m not sure I’ve seen more than one or two at once!

Then again, they’re not as small as the teenie-tiny gharial babies.

Another particularly helpful father of the natural world is the golden lion tamarin.

These orange-haired cuties are closely related to marmosets and from a similar area: Central and South America. Their connection could also explain why they’re both on this great fathers list! These bright male monkeys carry infants for the first few weeks of their lives. They bring them to the mom to nurse, but take them right back when they’re done. This behavior is particularly helpful, as tamarins are one of the few primates that regularly birth twins or triplets!

One is tough enough, any more and you take all the help you can get!

I used to joke with my husband that since I carried the babies for the first nine months, he had to carry them for at least the next nine!

Turns out he’s carrying them for far more than that; our now-four-year-old still loves riding in the daddy hiking backpack, just like tamarins.

Next on our list are red foxes.

In addition to being gorgeous creatures that look like they’d be fun to be around, they stick around for their babies. Fathers are known to care completely for litters in the unfortunate circumstance where the mother is unable. Even when both are around, red fox dads provide food to the mother so she can stay cozy in the den with the kits while they grow. Once old enough to venture out, Papa then becomes a playmate, often sharing survival skills through playtime.

Among humans, dads can excel at tossing babies in the air, to giggling delight.

Or fulfill a common request, such as being carried upside down.

Or maybe they’ll ask for another “big throw” onto the bed!

But, through play, they can often impart wisdom in addition to some thrilling fun.

Let’s conclude our odes to fathers with the golden jackal.

While jackals can be known for their aggression, once they form a mating pair, they channel that intensity to each other. Males are devoted fathers, digging dens and burrows in which the mother gives birth. Once the pups are old enough to switch to solid food, the dads not only provide it for them, but they also initially provide it in a softer form through…regurgitation.

I’ve heard of “mama-bird, baby-bird,” but not of “daddy-jackal, baby-jackal.”

Don’t worry, I’m not about to tell some story of human fathers “ABC-ing” food for toddlers.

I’m pretty confident that’s not a trend among us bipeds, or at least not a common one.

Still, dads can do a lot of teaching when it comes to sustenance.

It’s always important to wear a crown, for example.

And remember to hydrate.