Which animal mom are you most like?
Are you exhausted from lack of sleep and gain a ton during pregnancy? Do you move a lot, birth in water, share parenting duties down the middle, or go without meals for youroffspring?! Which life can do you relate to most? If you know more parental animal behaviors that are comment worthy we’d love to learn from you!
Orangutan
Highly intelligent, the orangutan is the ultimate D.I.Y. mom. She spends almost her entire life up high in the trees. Orangutan moms build a new nest every night from branches and foliage. She creates more than 30,000 homes in her lifetime! Do you find yourself moving around often? Perhaps you are a military family or just like a change of scenery every so often? Endless sheets to wash for night-time bed-wetters? Thank goodness it’s not every night! Although sometimes starting over sounds refreshing!
Orangutan moms also generally nurse their offspring until they reach the age or 6 or 7 years old! Incredible! Are you on an extended breastfeeding journey? Orangutan’s practice the longest nursing dependency of any animal on Earth.
Emperor Penguins
Emperor penguin parents share the role while most of the time raising a single baby. Either mom or dad will hunt for food while they other stays at “home” to keep the baby warm and protected. Do you and your partner both work and share all responsibilities equally?
Polar Bears
The polar bear mom-to-be puts on about 400 pounds during pregnancy! That’s a lot of “baby weight”! I wonder how many other polar bears ask her if she is expecting twins or comment on how she must be about to pop?! Did you experience over the top comments during your pregnancy like so many other expectant mothers?
After packing on the pounds, the polar bear mom has one of the easiest labors known. She fashions a maternity den, in a snowdrift normally. Then she enters a hibernation-like state and “sleeps” through the baby’s birth. Can you imagine? Did you or are you planning to get an epidural, go under general anethesia, or meditate throughout your birth? That’s about as close to a hibernation-like state as we human moms can get while birthing! Polar bear sure seem to have it made in the birth department!
Giant Pacific Octopus
A female octopus has one goal in life: to have one successful brood of eggs. Was having babies a life-long dream for you? The Giant Pacific Octopus will lay between 20,000- 100,000 eggs in her lair and defend them at any cost. Are you a fierce protector?
During the time caring for her eggs, the female is starved almost to death. She may even ingest one of her own arms before she’d consider leaving her eggs to get food. Would you give your right arm to protect your kids? Have you given up your own plate of food more times than you’d like to count so that your kids can have seconds? Giant Pacific Octopus die soon after the birth of her babies, leaving behind a legacy to carry on! We sure are thankful more modern medicine and surgery when needed! We’re also lucky that our design for life is different. We get to lug our babes around in our womb and enjoy eating!
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Orca and Bottlenose Dolphins
Orca and Bottlenose Dolphin calves don’t sleep for an entire month after birth! You know what that means? Those moms are either sleep deprived or they have help so they can get good rest! I think we can all relate to feeling like a mama Orca or Bottlenose Dolphin!
The sleeping patterns of captive Orca and Bottlenose Dolphins were examined. It was determined that the “exceptional wakefulness of newborn whales and dolphins has no ill-effect on their development”. Well, was there a study done on sleep deprived mothers? This takes the, “sleep when baby sleeps” saying to whole new level of insanity! Call in the reinforcements, mama needs sleep!
Their study showed that Orca, Bottlenose Dolphins, and their mothers, avoided obstacles, swam continuously and surfaced repeatedly for air 24 hours a day for the first month of life!
Harp Seal
A mother harp seal identifies her baby from hundreds of other babies based on smell alone? Did you fall in love with your baby’s unique smell? Your baby’s sweet aroma triggers the release of oxytocin (the love hormone) and tiggers emotions of joy and fierce protection!
The pups don’t have any blubber at birth, but quickly gain weight nursing on high-fat mother’s milk. Was your baby born perfectly on the smaller side? Did she quickly gain milk rolls?
During mating season male harp seals will dance to get the best mate. Did your partner’s hot dance moves win you over?
Hippopotamus
A mother hippopotamus will sometimes give birth to her baby underwater. When she does, she helps the baby to the surface so he can breathe. A mother hippopotamus must fight off intense predators like lions, crocodiles, and even the male hippopotamus that only attacks the babies in water, not on land. Did you labor or give birth to your baby in the water?
In areas undisturbed by people, hippos lie on the shore soaking up the morning sun.Are you a sun goddess who prefers to spend her time perched beautifully near the shoreline too?
