In celebration of Mother’s Day weekend, we’d like you to meet some spectacular animal moms!
Dolphins
Dolphin moms & calves immediately form a strong bond. They’ll synchronize their breathing and swim patterns for the baby’s first few weeks of life – to keep as close as possible. These dedicated moms will nurse their young for up to 10 years!
Veteran dolphin moms will also mentor less-experienced females in their colony by allowing them to babysit their young and practice for when they have their own babies.
Giant Pacific Octopuses
Female giant Pacific octopuses have one primary goal: to have one successful brood of eggs in her lifetime.
Females will lay about 200,000 eggs in their lair and defend them at any cost. During the seven months of caring for her eggs, the female octopus is often almost starved to death – she’d ingest a limb before leaving her post for food.
Strawberry Poison Arrow Frogs
After laying her eggs and watching them hatch, strawberry poison arrow frog moms will carry their tadpoles (one by one) from the rain forest floor up trees as high as 100 feet!
Then, she’ll find individual pools of water in the tree leaves for each of her tadpoles to grow, keeping them safe from predators.
Alligators
Alligator moms will go to great lengths to protect their young, including carrying alligator babies in their jaws for protection!
Juvenile American alligators at National Aquarium, Washington, DC
Alligator babies will typically stay close to mom for their first year of life.
Celebrating Ivy’s first Mother’s Day!
This past year, our Linne’s two-toed sloth, Ivy, became a first-time mom to baby, Camden! Making this Mother’s Day a special one for our Aquarium family!
Ivy with her baby Camden!
