FATHERS are the protectors, guides and providers of their families. With them, we just feel safe and secure; they teach us valuable lessons and how to deal with the world. And our dads are not the only amazing ones — some dads of the animal kingdom are so dedicated to their offspring and family that they just need a special acknowledgement.

Let’s discover what these amazing fathers of the animal world do to deserve the title of being the best dads of the animal kingdom.

Emperor penguins

THOUGH all penguins share parental responsibilities, the male emperor penguins make for one of the most devoted dads of the animal kingdom and deserve a super dad award for the amount of effort they put in for their kids.

Right after the female emperor penguin lays the egg, one at a time, papa penguin takes over as she carefully transfers the egg to the feet of the mate. If it slips and stays in the ice and snow that is all around them, the egg will not hatch. Mummy then goes off to the sea to feed herself while the doting dad balances the egg on his feet and covers it with a piece of skin called a brood pouch. For the next 65 days, he eats nothing.

When the egg hatches, all the fathers huddle close to conserve as much heat as possible so that the near-featherless chicks stay warm. Their coordination during this time is totally amazing — the male penguins take turns allowing each group a chance at the cool outermost edge and warm centre.

After almost two months, the female emperor penguin returns from the sea to take over and start caring for her newborn chick and daddy is finally free to feed, but the male still shares the feeding responsibility with the female until the chick is old enough to feed itself.

Rheas

THESE large flightless birds beat the emperor penguin for the title of super dads of the animal world because they not just incubate the eggs but also build the nest and raise the chicks for the first six months without any assistance from the multiple mothers. And we are not talking about just one egg or one chick here — multiple mother rheas can lay as many as 50 eggs and a single male rhea will be in charge of incubating them for almost 40 days and looking after the resulting chicks! In fact, after the eggs hatch, it doesn’t let the females come near the chicks at all.

Seriously, this really is a remarkable feat for any gender of any species!

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LIKE the rheas, the ostrich father also plays an active parenting role. After the eggs are laid, mother ostrich incubates them during the day and father ostrich incubates the eggs at night.

After the eggs are hatched, which can take 42 to 46 days, the male takes charge to protect the chicks from predators. Their massive wings are handy in shielding the chicks. And this is not all, the feeding responsibility is also of the male who patiently teaches the chicks to search for food and feed themselves.

Red fox

MALE red foxes are really doting dads who play a very active role in protecting, raising and teaching the cubs essential life skills.

While the female red fox stays in her den to keep them warm and feed them, the male red fox gets the food for her every six hours or so and when the pups are old enough to move around a bit, the dad takes them out of the den to play. During these play sessions, daddy red fox teaches the cubs some vital survival and hunting skills, and even goes as far as to bury the food nearby for them to sniff and find. They also play ambush with the cubs to teach them how to escape predators.

Wolf

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He is also the guard and a watchful play mate for young pups once they start moving about a bit.

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MALE seahorses are really one of a kind when it comes to being a dotting parent — they actually become ‘mums’! Male seahorses have a special brood pouch where they accept the eggs (which may be up to 10 to 1000 at a time), fertilise them and carry them till they are mature enough, in about 25 days, and then expel the young from the pouch.

And this is where their role ends! The tiny seahorses then swim clumsily to nearby plants to hook themselves on it. They get no further parental care from either parent.

Marmosets

MARMOSETS are squirrel-sized, furry primates that dwell in trees. As they live in a ‘cooperative breeding group’, where every family member chips in with infant care, the father marmoset takes his role rather seriously.

Soon after the babies are born, usually twins, the marmoset dad grooms, feeds and protects the young by carrying them with him on the back. Others in the group, such as older siblings, too chip in with the duties while the mother marmoset is carefree to do what she wants.

Giant water bug

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So daddy now gently strokes the eggs to keep them clean, sometimes sits at the water surface to dry them off and get rid of parasites. Anywhere he goes, he has to carry this burden on his wings and he has to move around often to avoid predators. And to protect their eggs from predators, the giant water bug can deliver one of the most painful of bites in the insect world.

Jacana

ALL that a female jacana does is lay the eggs and then she is free to do what she likes. The eggs are laid on a nest made by the male bird that now starts to incubate the eggs and goes on to care for the chicks when they hatch.

Being a migratory bird, the females sometimes leave the territory while the male cares for the chicks until they can be independent.

Arowana

THE arowanas are excellent protective fathers, one of the best among fishes! They keep the eggs and young ones safe in a very ingenious way — the arowana fathers harbour hundreds of eggs and baby fish in their mouth! Once in a while the kids are allowed to go out for a swim but the dotting dad makes sure he sucks back into his mouth every single baby fish. This goes on until the young ones are old enough to live on their own.