7 Facts about African Fathers List

1) Lions - The Father of the Animal Kingdom

Of course, we must begin our list with the male lion, though there is the perception of the lion being a lazy parent, the male lions main role is to maximize the amount of cubs that he can have, this is why most prides will consist of many lioness and herds of cubs.

Once this family is created, the new father assumes responsibility for the security of all the members in his pride.

2) Mountain Gorillas – The Protective Father

The fact that they are limited in numbers makes the Mountain Gorilla some of the most overprotective species in the animal kingdom. Mountain Gorillas are known to lead strong cohesive families, as they are in charge of defending their children from the threats of poaching and other animals by beating their chests.

Interestingly the male mountain Gorilla also plays part as a mediator between aggressive behaviors involving their own family and troop, protecting their own from other older mountain gorillas.

3) Namaqua Sand Grouse – The Responsible Father 

The Namaqua sand grouse of the Kalahari Desert is one of the most responsible fathers in the animal kingdom. The role of the father is to take turns with his mate to incubate their eggs, dealing with the long night shift, while the female takes over during the day so he can fly off with fellow fathers in search of food and water.

Additionally, after the chicks hatch the father’s feathers are used to absorb water and bring it back to feed and hydrate their newborns. 

4) The Flamingo – The Loyal Father

A rarity in the animal kingdom is the flamingo, a monogamous specie that  remains with the same mate for life. This level of loyalty is passed on to the next stage of caring for their young as they observe gender equality when it comes to raising their chicks.

The male flamingo with his mate, select the site of their nest, which is usually constructed of mud that they help in building together. During the period of incubating the egg, the male again shares equal responsibility with the female, together defending and rearing their young hatchling, whilst taking on the role of a strong father figure.

5) Seahorse – The Impressive Father 

The most impressive father on this whole list is the Seahorse, who in our opinion could be one of the greatest fathers ever. The main reason for this is because due to the male’s role in pregnancy.

The female Seahorse places her eggs in a special pouch on the male’s front and after that it’s all up to the father, as he fertilizes the eggs over a period of 10 – 25 days, keeping them nice and safe in his pouch before giving birth to anything between 1 – 2,000 offspring. This is an incredible feat and an extraordinary amount of offspring to have.

6) Rhino – The Ultra Aggressive Father 

If we are looking for a strict and overprotective father on the list, it would be the male Rhino, who often don’t play much of a role in the upbringing of their calf. They most often tend to leave the female as soon as mating has occurred and go back to defending their own territory.

The mother of a calf however does not mate with another male until her calf has left her to pursue its own life of independence. This sometimes results in aggression on the part of other male Rhino’s, who often try to kill the baby in an attempt to mate with the female. 

7) Ostrich – The Supportive Father

The ostrich is an incredibly supportive father figure to its offspring, as after a female lays her eggs, the male take turns in incubating them. The female incubates during the day and the male at night.

Once the eggs hatches, it is the male Ostrich’s responsibility to defend the hatchlings from predators, as well as teach their offspring how to eat.