Fatherhood in the Animal Kingdom

Bad fathers, probably since the days of the caveman, have excused their behavior as being "only natural." Pointing to the "irresponsible" mating and parenting behaviors of domesticated male dogs and cats and the lack of paternal involvement of our closest relatives, the chimpanzee, they shrug their shoulders and assert it's just their animal nature that makes them shy away from commitment to marriage and family.

But Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of When Elephants Weep and Dogs Never Lie About Love, wasn't convinced. In his years of research on animal emotions and intelligence, he had found such rich inner lives and wide range of behaviors he was sure there were many good role models for fatherhood in the animal kingdom, and in The Emperor's Embrace he focuses on the good and sometimes heroic parenting styles of animal fathers.

Heroic Fathers

The book's title, of course, comes from the astonishing paternal performance of Emperor penguins of Antarctica. Balancing their precious eggs on their feet, the entire colony of male penguins huddles together for three frigid months, not eating and barely moving except to form a protective circle against the sub-zero winds, while the famished moms trek across the ice to replenish themselves in the sea.

Only when the mothers return - usually just in time for the babies to hatch - can the males make the same trek to feed. If the mother is delayed or late for some reason, the near-starving dad is able to feed the hatchling with "penguin milk," which will sustain the youngster for 2 more weeks.

The most extreme fathering act is almost certainly the mysterious sea horse who actually becomes pregnant, following a long, passionate courtship. The mother sea horse disappears after the elaborate mating dance is completed and leaves dad to give birth and raise the kids.

Fathers in several fish species practice "mouthbrooding"- protecting their entire brood of fish babies inside their mouths whenever danger threatens - and there are many examples of dedicated avian dads.

Mammalian Dads

While positive paternal role models among mammals are harder to come by, species such as the beaver and wolf have strong family ties, and the fathers are monogamous and devoted to raising the young. Prairie dog dads can be playful and affectionate towards the youngsters, sometimes joining in the rollicking fun. But they also have a darker side, and like the more infamous mammalian fathers - lions, bears, and aggressive bull elephants - have been known to engage in infanticide. Cases of homicidal fathers have also been observed among some of our closest primate relatives.

Speculating on the rationale for the wildly different parenting styles seen in nature, Masson discusses the effects on parenting choices of extreme sexual dimorphism (great size differences between males and females), the dependency of the young (do they need years of attention or are they born ready to fend for themselves?), and how much protection and care they need. If one parent can easily raise the young alone, fathers may be more inclined to leave after his procreative duties are done. But in some species of ducks, the dad actually "highjacks" his mate's eggs and chooses to raise them on his own or, at times, with another male. On the other side of the spectrum, female elephants appear to physically evict all adult males from their strongly matriarchal society once mating is out of the way, apparently considering them too dangerous and disruptive an influence.

Human Choice

Whatever our true "human nature," Masson concludes that our ability to understand and choose our behavior means we don't need to be locked into a dysfunctional model. Turning to Darwin, "father" of evolutionary theory, he writes:

Too often a father feels it is his duty to let his child know that the world is a hard place, filled with falseness, cruelty, and injustice. Darwin believed, and I do, too, that while this may well describe the world we know, it is one of the chief functions of fathers to protect their children from those same cruelties and unkindnesses and instill in them the deeper lessons of compassion and care, and that they do this best by the example of their own lives, caring for their children and other helpless creatures with intense devotion and joy at the wonder of the world we have evolved to share with other creatures so like us, and yet so enchantingly different.