These Animals Are Some of the Best Mums on the Planet
News
With Mother’s Day on Sunday 10 May, we want to celebrate these wonderful animal mums.
While there are many other great animal mums out there, these four animals are some of the ones we work hard to protect from cruelty and suffering.
Pigs
Not only are pigs incredibly smart and emotive, they’re also great mothers. Pigs have dozens of distinctive grunts, including specific ones to call their piglets—just like the human equivalent of names! Piglets learn to recognize their mothers’ voices after approximately two weeks.
Like many human mothers, pigs build strong relationships with their babies and even get anxious when separated from them. When nursing, mother pigs have even been known to sing to their piglets. How sweet!
A lioness and her four young cubs in a national park in Kenya (Credit: iStock. by Getty Images)
Lions
It’s no secret lionesses run the world of big cats. They make up the majority of the pride, hunt for the males, and take care of their cubs. During mating season, multiple female members of the pride will give birth at the same time and nurse their cubs for up to two years.
Like some other species, lionesses will care for other female’s cubs in the pride, but not just to babysit; lactating moms will let any of the pride’s offspring nurse from them. It takes a village!
Elephants
Elephants endure 22 months of pregnancy and give birth to 200-pound babies. If that doesn’t already make them super moms, this certainly does: female elephants stay with their mothers their entire lives.
The herds they live in are matriarchal, often consisting of mothers, sisters, and calves and led by an elder female. Mother elephants select several relatives as “babysitters” for their calves so they can enjoy eating in peace (isn’t that every mother’s dream?).
Chickens
Like pigs, chickens have many vocalizations—including specific calls for alerting their flock when predators are nearby, and chicks can let their mothers know when they’re uncomfortable. While that’s impressive, mother hens use their vocalizations to do something sweeter; mother hens chirp to their chicks before they’re born. What’s more, the chicks chirp back inside the eggs.
This Mother’s Day, please make a gift to protect animals—you can even do so on behalf of the special mum in your life!
Mother hens chirp to their chicks before they’re born. What’s more, the chicks chirp back inside the eggs.