A Devoted Single Beaver Father Does It All (by Mark Bekoff)

[Animal Rights Zone]

From Psychology Today, Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, tells the story of how a male beaver cares for his young...

Bekoff writes:

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."

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.

The image is from Worth A Dam.

[Carolyn Bailey]

This is a really nice story. It's always interesting to hear about how amazing animals other than humans are. It made my day too! :)