Happy Mothers Day | 5 Best Animal Mums blog post

Happy Mother's Day! Meet 5 Amazing Animal Mums

  • By - Jessica Pettit-Mee
  • 07 March, 2021

With Mother's Day around the corner, it's the perfect excuse to celebrate mums around the world - including those of the animal kingdom. 

There's nothing quite like a mother's love, and mums from the animal kingdom are no exception. Whether you are a human or an animal it is often the job of the mum to raise young who can protect and feed themselves and eventually leave the nest. In the animal kingdom, constant danger leads animal mums to do all sorts of amazing and selfless things. 

In this blog, we are celebrating the most caring mums of the animal kingdom. Their strong maternal instincts, unfailing devotion to protect and care for their offspring and the great lengths they go to ensure their young survive to independence have earned them the title of being the best animal mum on the planet!

  1. Elephant - Grandmother, Mothers, and Aunties know best!

Elephants may be the most protective moms on the planet. Elephant mothers carry their babies for nearly two years before giving birth and then female elephants of the herd help each other raise their young. Elephant herds are matriarchal. The oldest and experienced matriarch plays a key role in controlling the social network of the group and in ensuring the survival of the family. Herds of females and children usually travel together in a circle with the youngest member on the inside, protected from predators. If one child becomes an orphan, the rest of the herd will adopt him. 

Jessicaivy_elephantartframe

  1. Orangutan - Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a Mother. 

Orangutan mothers are single parents and the bond between an orangutan mother and her young is one of the strongest in nature. The orangutan has the longest childhood dependence on the mother of any animal in the world because there is so much for a young orangutan to learn in order to survive. Orangutans grow up incredibly slow. A baby will cling onto and be carried by his or her mother for at least the first two years of life and the mothers stay with their young for six to eight years, teaching them where to find food, what and how to eat, how to avoid predators and the technique for building a sleeping nest.

baby animal art - orangutan print for nursery

  1. Dolphin - Mom sleep, it’s like regular sleep but without the sleep.

Have kids and running on no sleep? Dolphin mothers can relate and then some! Newborn dolphins stay awake for a month after they are born, and so does Mum. The first month of both mother and baby being together is spent mostly awake until the baby gradually adopts normal adult resting habits. 

Dolphin art print 

  1. Killer Whales - Home is wherever my mum is.

Despite their fierce name, Killer Whales (Orca) are really mama's boys. For good reason, studies have shown having a mother nearby significantly increases a son's chances for survival. Orcas live in social groups that include their sons and daughters who stay with them their entire lives. While male orcas will mate with females from other pods, they always return to their original pods and their orca mothers continue to help grown sons fight off predators and find food. According to research on orcas, males often die one year after their mothers do. Scientists believe this is one of the reasons orcas are one of the few species of animals, including humans and pilot whales, to have extended post-menopausal life.

Animal Art limited edition print of killer whales

  1. Adopted Mothers - It takes a Village! 

Lactating mums will nurse recently orphaned babies. It isn’t uncommon for Lionesses or Cats to adopt into their litter. A mother cat who's recently given birth is usually open to caring for other kittens. If the orphaned kittens are close in age to their foster mother’s litter, or the foster mother has very recently weaned, there's a good chance the babies will be accepted.

Commission a special pet portait

 

These animal mums remind us a lot of our own mums and all the things they do for us. All mothers on our planet are amazing. Don’t forget to thank your mum today – or if you are one – Happy Mother’s Day!

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