5 animals that are better parents than humans

Humans have protected animals, killed them, caged them, freed them, loved them and hated them...and now parents can learn a thing or two from them. Here are five ways animals are better parents than some humans:

1. Barn Owls

Humans can learn faithfulness from barn owls because these owls mate for life. If one dies their mate often dies soon after, unless there are little owlets to take care of. The male always provides food and protection for his mate untill his owlets are born. When the eggs hatch, the male makes it possible for his mate to focus her energy on teaching the little owls how to survive. Male and female barn owls will hunt for their owelts together once their little babies are able to be left in the nest.

2. Elephants

These majestic creatures don't often have babies, but when they do the calf is well protected. Protection is important for these mothers, and the entire herd. Occasionally, another herd will steal a calf but when this happens the original herd will all attack the calf theives and get the child back to its mother. This protection is important lesson for human parents; Let your community help protect you and your child and do the same for others.

3. Seals

Seals are adorable to watch and the way they teach their children to survive is amazing. Not only do they begin teaching survival techniques while their pups are young, seal parents protect their pups fiercely. It is a difficult balance to keep their pups safe while teaching them to survive, but somehow they manage. From seals, human parents can learn how to keep their kids safe, while still letting them experience life.

4. Orangutans

Orangutan mommies spend up to nine years in seclusion to teach their children how to feed and protect themselves and ensure mom and baby have a strong bond. When these orange cuties can't handle a danger themselves, they know mom will be there to protect them. That level of trust in a crisis is something all human parents should strive to have with their children.

5. Dolphins

I cannot talk about animal parents without mentioning playful dolphins. Dolphins have strong parental instincts - instincts that provide them extraordinary patience. Dolphin mothers will keep watch over her newborn calf for over a month, non-stop, without any sleep. They also patiently teach their calf how to swim, breath and survive the the ocean. But on top of all, dolphins also teach their young to be playful.

Humans do a great job raising our children (most of the time) but we could all use a little help learning faithfulness, protection, parent-child bonding, patience and playfulness...good thing we can learn from animals!

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11 Wild Animal Species You Never Knew Were Endangered

Orangutans

 
There are two species of orangutans: Bornean, ones that prefer the ground over the trees, and Sumatran, which have longer facial hair and develop closer bonds with each other. A century ago, their global population was more than 230,000. Now there are between 45,000 and 69,000 Bornean (endangered status) and only 7,500 Sumatran (critically endangered status).

Ground squirrels

That’s right, even squirrels are endangered, specifically the San Joaquin antelope ground squirrel. Native to California, these guys have been disappearing since 1979 on account of the construction and human developments going through their habitat. Their total population is unknown, but it could be anywhere between 124,000 and 413,000.

Tigers

All six tiger species are endangered, with Sumatran and South China tigers at a critically endangered status. The main reasons for their population decline are poaching and destroyed habitats, as humans clear forests to gather timber and build roadways. Only about 3,890 tigers currently live in the wild.

Giraffes

 

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature recently put giraffes at a vulnerable status, the level just before endangered. The giraffe population has declined a drastic 40 percent in the last 30 years, primarily due to loss of habitat and poaching. Some giraffes are killed just for their tails, which are considered status symbols in Africa.

Hummingbirds

 

Seven hummingbird species are endangered, all found in the Americas, primarily because of deforestation. The chestnut-bellied hummingbird has fewer than 1,700 mature individuals, and there are less than 400 sapphire-bellied hummingbirds left.

Black rhinos

 

Black rhinos are critically endangered, with fewer than 5,000 left in the world. The rest have succumbed primarily to poaching and illegal trading for their horns. Between 1970 and 1992, hunters killed 96 percent of Africa’s black rhinos. 

Bonobos

 

War hurts more than just humans. Civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has made bonobos more vulnerable to poachers and continues to destroy their forest homes. It’s unclear how many bonobos there are—probably 10,000-50,000—but scientists believe their population will continue to decline over the next 50 years.

Whales

 

As few as 300 North Atlantic right whales remain in the wild, and the populations among the other seven species range between 10,000 and 90,000. Pollution is a major threat for these aquatic giants, but according to the World Wildlife Fund, more than 1,000 whales are killed every year for commercial purposes.

Asian elephants

 

The main threat to Asian elephants, one of the most intelligent animals, is their shrinking habitat. As the human population grows, people invade their land to build roads and railway tracks. Elephants in Myanmar are at an especially high risk for being captured and traded or used illegally in the tourist industry. Fewer than 50,000 are left on the entire continent. 

Chimpanzees

 

Game meat from chimps, called bushmeat, has become a delicacy for wealthy African residents, which makes them a prime target for poaching. Additionally, baby chimpanzees are taken from their natural habitats and sold as pets in nearby cities. Their current population is somewhere between 173,000 and 300,000.

Sea lions

 

ImagingSea lions native to Australia, New Zealand, and the Galapagos Islands are all on the endangered species list. Their main threat is bycatch, which occurs when they are accidentally caught in fishing equipment while commercial fishers are trying to catch other fish. New Zealand sea lions are predicted to be extinct in five generations, about 50 years.

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Orangutans found to plan, communicate future routes

Male orangutans plan their trav­el route up to a day in ad­vance and com­mu­ni­cate it to oth­er orangutans, re­search in­di­cates.

An­thro­po­l­o­gists at the Uni­vers­ity of Zu­rich found that wild-living orangutans make use of the plan­ning abil­ity to at­tract fe­males and re­pel male ri­vals.

Source: Here

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Orangutans Announce Their Travel Plans A Day In Advance

We often think of the ability to plan for the future as a uniquely human attribute. Recent studies have suggested that our primate cousins might be able to plan for certain occasions, as well (like the mischievous chimp who stockpiled stones that he could later hurl at zoo visitors) but whether they use this ability in the wild is harder to show. A new study from the Anthropological Institute and Museum at the University of Zurich indicates that wild great apes do, in fact, plan hours in advance, and announce their plans to their friends.

Anthropologist Carel va Shaik tracked the ability of male orangutans to plan their travels in Indonesia through what's called a "long call," a spontaneous cry certain males—the ones that develop large cheek pads, called flanged males—emit throughout the day. "It’s a very loud booming vocalization that lasts up to four minutes—usually one to two—that goes like woop woop woop. We call them pulses." These male orangutans call in the direction they plan to travel up to a day in advance, he found, with the flanges acting like nature's bullhorn to focus the call in one direction.

Source: Here

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Chimpanzees, Orangutans Can Swim and Dive, Biologists Prove

For many years, zoos have used water moats to confine chimpanzees, gorillas or orangutans. When apes ventured into deep water, they often drowned. Some argued that this indicated a definitive difference between humans and apes: people enjoy the water and are able to learn to swim, while apes prefer to stay on dry land.

Renato Bender from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and Nicole Bender from the University of Bern have studied a chimpanzee and an orangutan in the United States.

Source: Here

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Orangutans

Orangutans, as one of the more well known great apes of the world, have been popular as pop icons, with countless orangutan characters playing integral roles in the development of storylines and plots.

From the wizard/librarian-turned-orangutan in the Discworld series by award-winning author Terry Prachett, to the spotlight focused on an orangutan character in Babe: Pig In The City, orangutans are also quite popular as plushie toy collections and other forms of child-friendly merchandise products, with such items drawing inspiration from their popularity as mainstream media characters.

Only found in Asia, orangutans are known for being one of the more intelligent ape species in the world, with researchers and scientists noting how wild orangutans actually use tools and other implements in getting tasks and chores done. Also known for their learning abilities, the orangutan’s capacity to take on “tests” and “challenges” have piqued the interests of different experts for years, along with their actual capacity to have distinct individual personalities.

Defined by their reddish-hued coats, the orangutan’s physical attributes define them as arboreal creatures, spending most of they days up on the canopies of trees. Contrary to most assumptions, they are quite docile but their strength does allow them to inflict serious injury when they are provoked.

Considered to be the most solitary of all the known great apes, orangutans are truly marvelous creatures, whose intelligence and unique physique have made them the target of different poachers and illegal animal trade.

Given the fact that they are only found in Asia, they stand to be at risk of going extinct, should any more damage to their natural habitats be done.

Orangutans Video

 

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