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Vertebrate maternal behavior is a form of parental care that is specifically given to young animals by their mother in order to ensure the survival of the young. [1] Parental care is a form of altruism, which means that the behaviors involved often require a sacrifice that could put their own survival at risk. [1]
The act of eating one's own offspring, or filial cannibalism, may be an adaptive behaviour for a parent to use as an extra source of food. Parents may eat part of a brood to enhance the parental care of the current brood. Alternatively, parents may eat the whole brood to cut their losses and improve their future reproductive success. [79]
Matriphagy is one of the most extreme forms of parental care observed in the animal kingdom. However, in some species such as the Funnel-web spider Coelotes terrestris , matriphagy is only observed under certain conditions and extended maternal protection is the main method by which offspring receive care.
Some animals starve to death shortly after birthing their young while others are eaten by their own young -- but these mothers make the ultimate sacrifice. Click through for 10 animal mothers that ...
About 30% of the 500 known fish families show some form of parental care, and most often (78% of the time) care is provided by only one parent (usually the male). Male care (50%) is much more common than female care (30%) with biparental care accounting for about 20%, although a more recent comparative analysis suggests that male care may be ...
Kavanau (1987) was the first to find that unique bi-parental care seen in modern birds probably evolved from extinct birds. They developed the ability to provide protection, escorting, nurturing and egg guarding abilities for their young. Evolution of homeothermy and flight most likely occurred in bi-parental birds with precocial chicks.
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Altricial young are born helpless and require care for a length of time. Altricial birds include hawks, herons, woodpeckers, owls, cuckoos and most passerines. Among mammals, marsupials and most rodents are altricial. Domestic cats, dogs, and primates, such as humans, are some of the best-known altricial organisms. [14]