19 Animals That Stay With Their Parents the Longest
Some animals really enjoy the home comforts that come with staying with mum and dad for a long time.
Below, we've picked out 19 animals that have a very close and long-lasting bond with their loving mothers.
1. African Elephants
Female elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal (22 months), and after a very long pregnancy mums have no time to rest. Baby elephants are not only born nearly blind but they rely on their trunks and mothers for everything, their mums will usually nurse them for four to six years.
In a phenomenon known as "allomothering," other females in the community help to care for the calf. Females will stay with their natal herd for the rest of their lives, but males leave the group between the ages of 9 and18.
African elephants live, on average, between 60 and 70 years.
2. African Lions
Lionesses can give birth to cubs throughout the year and they will fiercely look after them until they can fend for themselves when they are about 16 months old.
The cubs will stay with their mums until they are two or three years old, but female lions stay with their sisters and daughters for the rest of their lives.
The average lifespan of a female African lion is between 10 and 15 years.
3. Alligators
Female alligators are very protective of their young and when it is time for their babies to hatch, mothers will carry each egg in her jaws from the nest to the water to protect them from predators. They will stay looking after them after about a year.
Alligators live, on average, between 30 and 50 years.
4. Chimpanzees
The maternal bond is so strong that Chimpanzees love and care for their mother and vice versa even after they grow up into adults.
5. Dolphins
Dolphins are a species that have a caring, almost maternal behaviour towards their own and others. Not surprisingly, most dolphins feed their babies their rich breast milk for two to three years.
The average life expectancy of dolphins varies by species, but is generally between 40 and 60 years.
7. Grey kangaroo
Grey Kangaroos have brief pregnancies; after 21 to 38 days, they give birth to a joey that will stay in their mother's pouch until they are nine months old. But even after getting out of the pouch, it takes one year to become self dependent so it is up to their mums to look after them full time.
Kangaroos can live for about 18 years in the wild.
8. Giraffes
A giraffe is an animal that can be pregnant while they are nursing the previous ones and mother giraffes spend most of their life either nursing or pregnant.
Giraffes will enjoy the company of their mothers up to 2 years, but female giraffes will occasionally travel with their mum until the parent dies.
Giraffes can live for about 30 years in the wild.
9. Gazelles
To keep her calves safe from predators, a female gazelle will hide her babies in tall grasses until they are two months old, from then onwards the calf will spend more time with the mum and less time in hiding. Around this time and while still nursing, they also join a herd.
When males reach adolescence, they join a bachelor group and the mother will stop following him.
The average lifespan of a gazelle is about eight years in nature, and up to 15 years in captivity.
10. Gorillas
Just like human females, gorillas are pregnant for about 8 to 9 months and once they give birth, their babies will stay in their full time care until the age of three to four years old. The same amount of time a female gorilla waits between pregnancies.
The average lifespan of a gorilla is between 35 and 40 years.
11. Koalas
Koala joeys stay about six months inside their mother's pouch feeding on milk which helps them in forming their ears, eyes (they are born blind) and fur. By the time the baby koala is 12 months old, they leave their mothers to find their own territory.
The average lifespan of a gorilla is between 13 and 18 years.
12. Mouthbrooding Fish
The species of fish defined as mouthbrooders protect their eggs by keeping them in their mouths. Mouthbrooders include sea catfish, cardinalfish, pikeheads or jawfishes among others.
As soon as the eggs are fertilized, mothers don't eat in order to avoid swallowing them. After they have hatched, some mouthbrooders will continue to use their mothers' mouth for protection.
13. Orangutans
Orangutans have to wait for seven to eight years between births, the longest birth interval of any mammal.
After the birth of a baby orangutan and for about four months, the infant never loses physical contact with the mum. For the first two years of their lives, they completely depend on their mothers who may nurse them until they are six years old and have learned all the survivals skills required to manage on their own.
Similar to gorillas, the average lifespan of an orangutan is between 35 and 40 years.
14. Orcas
Born into highly bonded family groups called pods, female orcas stay with their mothers for the rest of their lives. The males do leave to mate but they eventually come back.
Orcas can live up to 90 years, so in one pod there will be many generations travelling together.
15. Polar Bears
When a baby cub is born, the dedicated polar bear mother never leaves her cubs until they are about two-and-a-half years old.
During this period, she fully trains them to learn survival skills. While pregnant, polar bear females spend nine months sheltering in a small den in preparation for birth where they can go four to eight months without eating.
17. Penguins
After an egg is laid, mother emperor penguin leaves it with the father who keeps it safe and warm. The mother then travels to the ocean to reach fish and returns to the hatching site to feed the hatched chicks via regurgitation.
The penguin chicks need their parents for survival and they will stay with them for about six months.
The average lifespan of an emperor penguin is about 20 years.
18. Tamarins
The South American primates enjoy living in family groups and babies will stay with their parents until they are young adults.
19. Wolves
Wolf cubs stay with their mother for about 10 months, the age the cubs are old enough to hunt with the adults. The female wolf is a very nurturing mother and keeps her pups in a den for three to four weeks before allowing them out into the light.
Wolves packs usually include the male and female parent, and their pups from the last few years.
The average lifespan of a wolf is about 15 years.
20. Wolf Spiders
Female wolf spiders can carry up to 100 babies in order to protect them from predators, they really are protective mums and when the spiderlings hatch they stay attached to them for several days before scattering.
