Mothers Of The Animal World
As we wind our way through mother’s day wherein all moms are celebrated as part of the Hallmark marketing machine, despite it’s dark origins according to National Geographic which was for mothers of dead soldiers and a peace movement:
But the holiday has more somber roots: It was founded for mourning women to remember fallen soldiers and work for peace. And when the holiday went commercial, its greatest champion, Anna Jarvis, gave everything to fight it, dying penniless and broken in a sanitarium.
It all started in the 1850s, when West Virginia women’s organizer Ann Reeves Jarvis—Anna’s mother—held Mother’s Day work clubs to improve sanitary conditions and try to lower infant mortality by fighting disease and curbing milk contamination, according to historian Katharine Antolini of West Virginia Wesleyan College. The groups also tended wounded soldiers from both sides during the U.S. Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
However, as pet owners also turn our attention to mothers in the animal world and take a look at the best and worst of them.
While nine months may seem like forever for some human mothers, pregnancy lasts much longer for many animals. So be glad that you’re not a rhino, who’s pregnant for 16 months or a sperm whale. Be even more glad that you’re not an elephant who’s just a little bit overdue: Last year, an elephant gave birth at a British zoo after being pregnant for 700 days. Yes, that’s almost two years.
Mammals don’t have the worst of it, either: An alpine salamander’s pregnancy can last three years, and it’s believed that the frilled shark may carry offspring for three and a half years.
Every neighborhood has that overachieving mom who makes everyone else feel bad, and the same is true for the animal kingdom. Most cold-blooded animals have an enviable mothering style — like frogs, who lay thousands of eggs, and then abandon them, figuring that at least a few will survive on their own.
What to feed the kids is always a source of contention for competitive moms. Our fellow mammals have no choice but to breast-feed, and if you found it hard, be thankful that you’re not a harp seal. They nurse their young for 12 days without eating, losing about seven pounds per day. It’s an effective post-pregnancy diet plan, but not a very pleasant one.
The late Ted Bird, age 22
Ambrose Butterbutt, age 16
Peanut Butter, age 16
Little Ted Bird, age 6 months
The late Sweetie Pie
The late Sweetie Pie