The Ultimate Worst Animal Parents
Join us as we explore the surprising stories of the worst animal parents!
These are the 15 Worst Animal Parents in the Wild
In an eagles’ nest somewhere high up on a cliff, a tiny little chick cries out in pain as his bigger brother attacks him – harder and meaner every time – under their mother’s cold, watchful eye. Meanwhile, in the freezing waters of the Arctic, a fluffy baby harp seal sits alone on the ice, shivering and helpless. He watches as his mother swims away forever… These aren’t scenes from a Disney movie – they happen every time in nature, where survival often comes at a heartbreaking cost!
1. Mama rabbit
With baby bunnies being so cute and cuddly, you’d expect their moms to be glued to them 24/7. But no, rabbit mamas have a completely different idea of parenting – leave them young so they can learn to fend for themselves. Therefore, right after giving birth, rabbit mothers leave the burrow, so those tiny furballs have to figure out life on their own. Their mama might drop by occasionally for a quick feeding session in the next 20 to 25 days, but after that – it’s tough luck for the poor little fellas.
But why are rabbit mothers so insensitive? Well, believe it or not, their disappearing act is strategic. By keeping the distance, they are reducing the chances of predators finding their babies. So, starving a bit is better than becoming some fox’s dinner. Not bad thinking, but still not good parenting, mama rabbit!
2. Harp seal mamas
The harp seals are some of the cutest animals on the planet. With their big, dark eyes, fluffy white fur, and innocent face, they will melt your heart in an instant. But their parenting style is as tough as they are cute, making them serious candidate for worst animal parents in the wild.
In the cold freezing waters of the Arctic and northern Atlantic, harp seal moms start out as the ultimate caregivers. For the first 12 days, they are totally dedicated to their babies, sticking close and feeding them around the clock. They don’t hunt during this time, so they lose around 6 pounds a day just to keep those little snowballs fed. But after these 12 days pass, it’s bye-bye – mom’s off to find herself a new mate.
Meanwhile, the innocent, little seal pups watch in dread as their mothers leave them hanging out on the ice, starving, unprotected and alone. They are not able to swim yet, so it’s a rough start to life. They’ll lose about half their body weight if they don’t get eaten by a polar bear in the meantime. In fact, nearly one-third of these adorable little furry balls don’t survive their first year, mostly because of this early abandonment and lack of mobility on land. Tough luck, little one!
3. Panda mamas
Pandas have a reputation for being gentle, funny, always cuddling their cute little cubs and enjoying life. But there’s a side to panda parenting that’s a lot less warm and fuzzy than you’d expect.
About half of all panda moms give birth to twins, but here’s the catch: since they don’t store fat like other bears, it is believed they can’t produce enough milk to feed two cubs. So, mama panda will choose the stronger of the two, leaving the weaker one behind. It’s a rough deal, but in the wild, she’s focused on ensuring at least one cub grows up strong and healthy, even if it means sacrificing the other.
This is what naturalists refer to as ‘quality control,’ but from the outside, it’s pretty brutal. And just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, these massive 280-pound pandas have been known to accidentally roll over or step on their tiny cubs while they sleep. You can imagine the tragic outcome for the poor little ones.
So, what do you think? Are panda mamas the worst animal parents out there? Wait ’till you hear the rest of it!
4. Hooded Grebes parents are the worst animal animal parents out there
On the stunning, windswept lakes of Patagonia, the hooded grebe birds pair up to raise their young – but their parenting style is anything but nice. The hooded grebe mother typically lays two eggs, and together with her mate, they take turns incubating them. But once the first egg hatches, their attention zeroes in on the firstborn, leaving the second offspring to fend for itself – or rather, not to fend at all.
This might sound cruel, but in the tough environments these elegant birds call home, it’s a calculated move. The food supply in these windswept lakes can be scarce, and raising two chicks would require more resources than the parents can reliably provide. By concentrating their efforts on the firstborn, which hatches stronger and earlier, they improve its chances of survival.
So, it’s sort of like the first-born gets the crown and the younger sibling gets…well, nothing at all, not even life.
5. Or maybe it’s Hungry hamster mamas?
Hamsters might look like the ultimate cute and harmless pets, but if you knew what some hamster moms do right after giving birth, you might want to think twice. Hamster mamas might eat their babies immediately after having them. Why would a mother do such a thing? The jury’s still out in the scientific community, but there are a few theories. Some suggest that the hamster mother might be very malnourished after birth and instinctively consumes some of her pups for the nutrients she desperately needs.
Another theory suggests that, with litters that can reach up to 20 pups, it’s a lot of responsibility for one tiny mom, and sometimes she might decide that fewer pups are easier to manage. It does destroy your mental image of hamsters, right? Regardless of the reason, eating your own babies definitely earns you a spot on the worst animal parents list.
6. Lazy cuckoo mamas take it up a notch
Why build your own nest, when you can trick another bird to lend it to you? And why does this put you on the list of the worst animal parents out there? Let’s find out!
When it’s time for a cuckoo mama to lay her eggs, she doesn’t bother building a nest of her own. Instead, she scouts out another bird’s nest and sneaks her eggs in with those of the unsuspecting host. How is this even possible?
She’s a real con artist. She would lure the host birds away from their nest and even push an egg or two out to make room for hers. What’s even more intriguing is that each cuckoo mother has a preference for a specific type of host bird. She’ll only lay her eggs in the nest of her chosen species. Her eggs are often a near-perfect match to the host’s, blending in so well that the host bird doesn’t notice. Some cuckoos even lay darker eggs that blend into the shadows of the nest, making them nearly impossible to detect.
Thanks to these cunning tactics, the host bird ends up raising a cuckoo chick as if it were her own, and here’s the real kicker. Usually the cuckoo chick hatches first and quickly pushes the other eggs or chicks out of the nest, ensuring it gets all the care and food from its adopted parents.
As for the cuckoo mom? She’s long gone, having left the dirty work to the unsuspecting hosts. This is what’s known as ‘brood parasitism,’ where the cuckoo’s survival comes at the expense of others. Nasty? Sure. But that’s just how it goes in the wild.
7. Jealous sparrow mamas: worst animal parents reloaded
Sparrows might not be the worst moms when it comes to raising their own chicks, but when it comes to being wives, well, that’s a whole different story. You see, they’ve got some seriously vengeful tendencies. Usually, male sparrows mate with multiple females throughout their lives. While a human wife might shed some tears or ask for a divorce in this situation, the female sparrow has a more ruthless attitude.
She doesn’t just sulk—she goes on the hunt. She’ll track down the nests of the other females her partner has been involved with. Once she locates them, she’ll destroy their eggs or even kill the chicks, making sure that her partner’s focus stays entirely on her own young ones. Sounds like a healthy relationship dynamic, right?
8. Black bear mamas
While panda mothers prefer to focus on raising just one cub, black bear moms take a much more ruthless approach when it comes to parenting. Female black bears usually bring two or more cubs into the world at a time. But if a black bear gives birth to only one cub, that little one might find itself on its own.
Rather than investing all her energy into a single cub, the black bear mom may choose to abandon it, betting on a bigger litter next year. For her, the effort of raising just one cub isn’t worth it when compared to the work of raising two or three. It’s a harsh reality, but in the world of black bears, efficiency is everything—and one cub just doesn’t cut it. Brutal.
9. Practicality make mama skinks some of the worst animal parents
Affection and motherly love is not something you would associate with reptiles, that’s for sure. But the sheer indifference of mother skinks will still shock you.
When faced with a dangerous situation, like predators closing in on her eggs, you’d think that mama skink stands her ground to protect her future babies. But no, she does the exact opposite. If there are too many predators lurking nearby, she will just eat the eggs and run away.
Then she’ll wait for a safer time to lay new eggs. It’s all so cold, calculated, but in the world of skinks, it’s all about survival, not sentiment.
10. The thirsty Dracula Ant Mamas
The Dracula ant certainly lives up to its name, with a taste for blood that extends even to its own children, and this makes it one of the worst animal parents out there.
How this happens is, after the queen gives birth to new larvae, she and the blind worker ants take a rather disturbing approach to childcare. They puncture tiny holes in the larvae and suck out their hemolymph, which is the equivalent to blood in mammals. However, this doesn’t kill the larvae. It’s what scientists call ‘nondestructive cannibalism’. The larvae are left weakened but alive, just enough to keep going.
Researchers are still not 100% sure why the thirsty dracula ant mama does this. It’s more than just survival, it is somehow part of the ants’ social habits of sharing their fluids. Yes, it’s disgusting, to say the least. And it’s not just the queen indulging in this vampire-like feast. It’s also the worker ants. Imagine a party where the main course is the younger siblings.
So, next time you have a hard time dealing with your parents, remember the Dracula ants. They’ve set the bar really low for parenting, that’s for sure.
11. Coward quokkas mamas
Quokkas are so adorable, cuteness overload 100%, but their motherly instincts are…well, kinda’ non-existent. When a mother quokka senses danger, she will only care about saving herself. Instead of fighting or hiding, she drops her baby out of her pouch to distract the predator, while she makes a quick escape.
It sounds horrible, but in the wild, survival is tough, and the mother quokka has a very cruel, but practical instinct: “I can have more babies later, but only if I stay alive now”. As logical as this reasoning sound, we still think she deserve a spot on the worst animal parents list.
12. Lionesses falling for the king
This might come as a surprise, because we all picture lionesses as the ultimate supermoms of the savannah – strong, fearless, and ready to destroy anything that threatens their adorable cubs. They are also the real muscle behind the lion king’s throne, BUT life in the pride is no Disney movie. Despite the lionesses’ reputation, a staggering 80% of lion cubs don’t make it past the age of two. And the culprits aren’t always lurking hyenas or sneaky poachers; sometimes, it’s all about family drama gone wild.
You see, a family of lions is not called a ‘pride’ for nothing. When a male lion reaches adulthood, he has to make a name for himself, take over another pride. Brimming with fresh, crude strength and raging ambitions, he will challenge the reigning king of another pride, who might be due for retirement.
After a fierce showdown, the newcomer may overthrow the old ruler and send the other lingering male lions away. But that’s not all. The new self-proclaimed king needs to make sure there’s nothing standing between him and his future dynasty. Therefore, he will kill all the cubs of the former king. While all these lion kids, usually less than 2 years old, are being massacred, their protective mothers merely take on the role of silent spectators.
Why does the king resort to such Game of Thrones kind of violence? Because once the cubs are gone, the lionesses will become fertile and receptive to the new male, allowing the pride to start again. It’s nature’s harsh way of hitting the reset button.
However, it’s not always a one-sided tale of woe. In some cases, lionesses have been seen to band together in protecting their cubs from the usurper. Life is also complicated in the wild, and so much tougher.
13. Mommy Black Eagle doesn’t like babysitting
If you grew up with a younger brother, you probably smacked him a couple of times when he’d get on your nerves, but if your mama saw you, she’d step in immediately and probably give you a stern talking-to. But not the black eagle mother! She just sits and watches as one baby is fiercely attacking another. In time, one of the chicks gains the upper wing, while the weaker sibling, unable to fend off the attacks, gets gravely injured.
Do you think that at this point the mommy black eagle might step in? Well, she doesn’t, and the poor little chick is eventually killed by his sibling.
Why such a cold-stone approach? It all ties back to the ruthless laws of nature and the concept of survival of the fittest. By allowing the stronger chick to obliterate the weaker one, the black eagle momma ensures that her limited resources – mainly food – are reserved for the offspring with the best chance of reaching adulthood. Fewer mouths to feed mean the surviving chick gets better nutrition, increasing its odds of soaring the skies one day.
It’s a cold, calculated move from the black eagle momma for the greater good of the species as a whole. Still, she’s one of the worst animal parents in the wild, at least by human standards!
14. Barnacle Geese parents let their children fall to their fate
Overprotective parents do more harm than good, but do you know what’s the exact opposite of that? The barnacle geese parents. The barnacle geese are fascinating birds with largely black plumage, that live in the Arctic regions, particularly Greenland, Svalbard, and Russia, where they breed during the summer months.
They build their nests on steep cliffs or rocky outcrops, to protect the eggs and goslings from predators like Arctic foxes. The female lays around 4-5 eggs in a nest made of down feathers. She incubates the eggs for about 24-25 days while the male guards the area. The eggs typically hatch around late June to early July. Once hatched, the goslings are covered in soft, downy feathers. They are precocial, meaning they are relatively mature and mobile from the moment they hatch. But they cannot fly yet, and a big dramatic leap is coming into their early life.
The barnacle geese parents don’t bring the food to their children. Instead, the newly hatched goslings need to come down from the cliffs to eat. So, just a few days after hatching, they leap off the high cliffs, under the parents’ supervision. This leap can be several hundred feet, and it’s a harrowing experience. The goslings are light and fluffy, which helps them survive the fall to some degree, but not all make it down alive. And even if they make it down alive, the noise they make may attract predators, which means that even those that survive aren’t safe.
Talk about a leap of faith!
15. Burying Beetle cruel population control
The burying beetles have some pretty smart antennae which help them detect an animal carcass, such as a small bird or mouse, from a long distance. They will compete with each other, males vs males and females vs females for control over the animal carcass. Those who win, get to keep it as their “home”.
They bury the carcass in the ground by slowly digging a hole under it, and cover it in special secretions to slow down its decay and hide the smell of rotting flesh from other interested parties. After the carcass has been buried, the female lays its eggs on the soil around it. The larvae hatch after a few days and move into a pit in the carcass that the parents have created for them.
At this point, the larvae are capable of feeding themselves, but they also ask their parents to feed them. The parents do so by eating the flesh off the carcass, regurgitating it and feeding it back to the larvae in liquid form. So far, nothing wrong right? Burying beetles seem like the perfect parents.
However, that’s true only as long as there’s enough food going for everyone. If the parents see that there’s not enough food to feed everyone properly, they will kill part of their young population.
In the world of the burying beetle, to be successful parents means to achieve the perfect balance between the number of offspring and the size that they mature into. If they keep too many kids around, they’ll probably be underfed and it’s unlikely that they’ll survive. If they young grow too large, then it means the beetles could have had more of them.