Kyra.Graves 23779 Report post Posted June 22, 2012 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201206/devoted-single-beaver-father-does-it-all A Devoted Single Beaver Father Does It All Single male called Dad raises young after his mate died Published on June 21, 2012 by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D. in Animal Emotions I hope this touching story makes your day as it did mine. A single male beaver called "Dad" living near Martinez, California is raising his 3 children on his own. Dad's mate died after getting a bad infection and he was left to care for their three youngsters, two about 7-8 weeks old and another around 2 years of age. The story goes as follows: "After Mom died, Dad disappeared for three days. Ms [Heidi] Perryman [president of Worth A Dam] heard the babies whining for food and comfort deep into the night. When they finally spotted dad after he was grieving, he appeared 'a little looser in the skin, a little older.' From then on, Dad was the champion of his family. Worth A Dam recorded him bringing gourmet branches to his three babies to nourish them. The group recorded Dad teaching his babies how to swim with piggyback rides around the creek and how to gather food and chomp on wood for the dam." Dad is still at work raising his kids. More details, photos, and videos can be seen here. Bravo Dad. This is a very inspirational story that is consistent with the rapid accumulation of scientific data showing that many animals are devoted parents and that males are well able to raise young on their own.[/Quote] 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spud271 47779 Report post Posted June 22, 2012 That was a very interesting article. I didn't realize how structured a beaver family was. Just learned something new today, thank you Kyra! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
