In most living beings, females play a key role in raising their young. It is they, for example, who are responsible for gestating, giving birth and then taking care of their offspring. However, there are exceptions to the rule, as there are fathers in the animal kingdom who are true mothers.

Some animals take parenting very seriously. They play a fundamental role in the survival and development of their babies, becoming the true mothers of the relationship. They are an example of love, commitment and devotion to their offspring, even serving as an inspiration for human beings.

If you are curious about the subject, then you are in the right place. See below the 10 fathers of the animal kingdom who are true mothers and be surprised by such devotion!

To begin the list of fathers in the animal kingdom who are true mothers, it couldn't be any other way than the seahorse. Surely, among all the species listed here, it is the best known in terms of paternity – or, in your case, would it be maternity?

This is because the seahorse, as you well know, has an unusual paternity. Instead of the females, it is the males that become “pregnant” and give birth to hundreds of seahorses at once. Yes, that's right: the seahorse's gestation is done by the father.

Male seahorses have a pouch on their belly where females lay their eggs. Once deposited, the male fertilizes them and incubates them for a period of up to 45 days, until the young are born fully developed.

Have you heard about the belostomatidae? If not, know that you are not missing much because this animal is popularly known as the water cockroach. So it is! However, this insect, despite its common name, is not cockroaches in the strict sense, but rather large bedbugs.

And what does the belostomatidae have to do with our text? Basically everything! You know these bumps on the top of the insect? So, they are not your physical characteristics, but eggs! The females deposit them on the backs of the males, along with a highly adhesive liquid, forcing them to carry the eggs until hatching.

However, the reason males carry eggs on their wings until they hatch is not the nicest in the animal kingdom. It is believed that this occurs because the parents usually consume the eggs and, on their backs, access becomes practically impossible.

scientifically called Cyclopterus lumpus, the lumpfish is a brackish and marine water species. If you look at the photo below, you will notice that this is not the most beautiful animal in nature, but what the males of this family of fish do for their young is really remarkable.

During the spawning period, females lay around 140,000 eggs, which are protected by males until the larvae hatch. To do this, the father uses its pelvic fins, which are essentially like suction cups, to stick to a surface near the eggs. There, it settles down, brooding the eggs in a certain way until they hatch.

Such protection is fundamental for the species, considering that its eggs are highly demanded. With a hue that varies between pale pink and yellow, they are submitted to a coloring process, which turns them black. With this, they are placed in brine to be marketed replacing sturgeon caviar. Believe if you want!

Considering the fathers of the animal kingdom who are true mothers, perhaps there is no species with males as devoted to fatherhood as frogs and toads. To get an idea, care is so great that there are parents who take their tiny tadpoles in their mouths in order to protect them from predators.

This situation, in turn, continues until the chicks are big enough to survive on their own. While this does not happen, parents often go without food! Inspiring, don't you agree?

But it doesn't stop here! There are also males that are capable of incorporating their offspring inside their skin, while there are others that harbor a special bag in their body to transport the tadpoles while they grow. Anyway, there are endless examples of care and dedication on the part of parents to their puppies. Everything can to protect them!

No, Jaçanã is not just a district of São Paulo that became very famous thanks to the song “Trem das Onze” by Adoniran Barbosa. It is also a species of bird, the males of which perform paternity very well. No wonder he is on our list of fathers from the animal kingdom who are true mothers.

In the case of Jaçanã, the females go for a walk and mate with as many males as possible to perpetuate the species. After mating with different partners, they leave the task of raising the young to the parents, who do all the work of building the nests, incubating the eggs and caring for the young once they hatch.

In other words, the males of the jaçanã species then play the role of loyal housewives, choosing to stay in the nest even long after the females have left the place. Even these parents are the ones who often take care of eggs that were fertilized by other parents. Beautiful dedication to see, isn't it?

Arowanas are freshwater fish of the family Osteoglossidae, often known as bone tongue. Classified as one of the most valued species in aquarism, this fish can cost a very high price, being sold for up to 300 thousand reais! It seems incredible, but it is not!

In addition to the fact that it costs a fortune, another curiosity of this species of fish concerns the male arowanas, as they exhibit some of the most extensive paternal care. Considered one of the fathers of the animal kingdom who are true mothers, they build nests for their young and protect them after they hatch.

As if that weren't enough, male arowanas are also notable for their ability to harbor hundreds of fry in their mouths. Some parents let these puppies out for a few minutes to explore the environment, which are picked up one by one as soon as “the walk is over”. The male then sucks the fry back into his mouth, keeping them safe from predators.

Like the seahorse, another animal well known for its exemplary parenting is the emperor penguin. After all, there are few instances in nature of a loving and devoted parent as they are. No wonder they are on our list of dads from the animal kingdom who are real mothers.

The male's care for his young starts from the egg, since it is the father's job to warm them up. It works as follows: after the female lays the egg, her nutritional reserves are depleted and she needs to return to the sea to feed for two months in a row. With this, the male is responsible for keeping the egg warm during the Antarctic winter.

If the egg is exposed to freezing temperatures, the chicks inside it can die, which would be a serious fatality. After they are born, the roles are reversed and the daddy penguin goes out to hunt for food and take care of the family.

Confused by its resemblance to the ostrich, the rhea is a large flightless bird whose males are the true mothers of the relationship. This is because they are the ones who hatch the eggs of the females, in groups in which up to 12 females can lay eggs from one male.

Despite having 12 females in his harem, the male is not an absent father. In fact, it is far from it! In addition to the incubation of up to – amazed! – 50 eggs per period, for six weeks, the parent rhea is responsible for building the nest and also for taking care of the chicks for the first six months, without any assistance from the various mothers.

Even during the reproduction period, the male becomes very aggressive and his paws become especially dangerous because of his musculature. If anything menacing approaches Daddy's precious little ones, he won't hesitate to attack whoever it is.

Despite their fearsome reputation as a predator and they could very well be on our list of cute animals that can kill, male wolves have exemplary behavior. In addition to being monogamous and living with their female wolves for a lifetime, males are attentive fathers who are fiercely protective.

In case you didn't know, a wolf pack is essentially a classic family consisting of a mother, father and children. By the way, it is good to reinforce that we are talking about a present father. For example, after the female gives birth, she stays close to her helpless young and does not leave her burrow for several weeks. That's where the presence of a strong father is needed.

This is because, while the mother is keeping an eye on her young, the father is on guard and hunts for food to share with his new family. When the young calf grows up a little, the father assumes the role of caretaker and mentor, both to play and to teach the calf to integrate into the environment. Anyway, between the two, there is a beautiful and inspiring relationship!

To end our text on fathers from the animal kingdom who are true mothers, we have the marmoset. The male of this species takes his role as a father very seriously! With the help of other family members, including older siblings, the father marmoset feeds and carries his young on his back while the mothers rest from motherhood.

The dedication and care is such that the parents even act as “midwives” during the birth of their puppies, cleaning the placenta and biting the umbilical cord. According to studies, there is a reason behind this: females make tremendous physical effort during pregnancy, but especially during childbirth.

So, we come to the end of our text about the fathers of the animal kingdom who are true mothers. There are, of course, other animals whose parents will do anything for their young, like the clownfish (you know the movie Nemo? Well, there's a reason the chosen fish was the clown!), but these 10 are the ones that have the paternity really touched on. May they be examples for us human beings!