Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
If you think father knows best, discover that he is no match for the
big daddies of the natural world.
We╒re counting down the top 10 most extreme dads in the animal kingdom and
comparing them to human attempts to father their way into the record
books.
Find out what it╒s like to be a real cool daddy when fatherhood is taken to
the most extreme.
Earth is a planet of extremes, extreme places and extreme animals.
But some animals are more extreme than others.
Join us as we countdown to find the most unusual and the most
extraordinary on The Most Extreme.
The countdown begins in Africa with a father that╒s really extreme,
extremely hot and extremely lazy.
The lion is number 10 in the countdown because the king of the beasts is
actually a real lay about.
He can quite happily doze for 20 hours a day.
But even this most ferocious father gets no respect from his children.
The lion can have about 20 curious cubs thanks to his seven lionesses.
When it comes to lions, bringing up the babies is definitely woman╒s work
for this father is a fighter.
These two bachelors want to make babies.
As father of the pride, it╒s up to this extreme dad to stop them, for if
he fails, these new males will kill all his cubs.
The lion is number 10 in the countdown because when it comes to looking after
his family, it pays not to rumble with the king of the jungle.
Our next contender lives in Australia and is the Casanova of the countdown.
It╒s the marsupial mouse called antechinus.
He is 11 months old and has just become sexually mature.
But he has only got three more weeks to live.
So when he finds a female, he has got an itch that really needs scratching.
The antechinus is number nine in the countdown because he is so busy making
babies that he forgets to eat, drink and sleep.
He can spend up to 12 hours on the job unless he is interrupted by an equally
desperate rival with fantasies of fatherhood.
Driven into a *** frenzy by a huge burst of natural steroids in their
blood stream, males fight for females.
And if they lose, then it╒s off to find the next potential mother.
The antechinus╒s extraordinary powers of passion have only been rivaled by
one man, the most extreme father in history.
According to the record books, the human antechinus lived in Morocco at
the end of the 16th century.
He was emperor Ismail, the Bloodthirsty.
With his four wives and harem of 500 concubines, he is said to have
fathered a record 888 children.
Ismail must have been a very busy man indeed for making babies is
biologically quite difficult.
That╒s because fertility statistic show that 10% of the harem are likely
to be infertile and all the remaining women would only have a short period
of fertility in their monthly cycle.
Don╒t forget that the chances of conceiving can actually be as low as
15%.
And of those that actually get pregnant, there are always some
miscarriages.
One researcher calculated that to father 888 children, the emperor would
have had to have made it with 4.8 women every day for four decades.
With that kind of activity, it╒s a wonder that Ismail didn╒t end up like
the male antechinus.
Poisoned by steroids in his blood, he is dying for love.
But he is actually making the ultimate sacrifice for his family.
The female lives on and will raise his children.
They╒ll actually have a better chance of survival without their extreme dad
because in these forests there╒s just not enough food for a father that╒s
past his use by date.
We╒ve rolled past the first two contenders, but just wait till your
father gets home because coming up are dads that love to horse around and
real men that can make milk.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
In the parched lands of northern India, our next contender in the
countdown of extreme dads isn╒t the bravest animal on the planet.
The golden jackal is sneaky, scrounging a living in the harsh
landscape by scavenging scraps of food.
Jackals will eat anything, especially when there are young babies at home
that need feeding every two hours.
It╒s a tough job, but luckily the female has got a partner she can
depend on.
Unlike almost all other mammals, jackals mate for life.
When mom and dad hunt together, their success rate is three times greater
than if they had hunted alone.
That╒s why the jackal is number eight in the countdown of extreme fathers.
If dad died, it╒s unlikely that the rest of the family would survive
without his help.
But in this dry land, there╒s always competition for food.
For a hungry jackal, this rotting carcass is a banquet.
But the enormous wild boar is a dangerous dinner guest.
It could easily wound or even kill the jackal.
But this dad will put himself at risk for his kids.
Table manners are forgotten when you╒re starving.
The jackal is number eight in the countdown because even though he is
starving, most of the food will be taken home for the kids.
Jackal dads have a truly disgusting way of putting dinner on the table.
It╒s a good thing human dads aren╒t more like jackals when they bring home
the bacon.
Luckily for these pups, this is one extreme father that will never leave
home, no matter how demanding his kids are.
So far we╒ve seen lay about lions, mad marsupial mice and doting doggy dads.
But coming up is a giant bug that really gets to grips with his
monstrous family.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
To find the next contender in our countdown of extreme dads, you╒ve got
to dive into the rice paddies of Japan.
Meet the giant water bug, one of the most devoted fathers in the countdown
with one of the most fearsome reputations.
Nothing is safe from its deadly jaws.
It will try to suck the life out of frogs, fishes and even on weary human
hands.
But there╒s a remarkably sensitive side to this extreme dad.
High on a plant stem, the female has laid 80 eggs.
But in an act of extreme devotion, it╒s the male giant water bug that
stands guard over his eggs.
He only leaves to collect water to make sure his family doesn╒t dry out.
All this house work isn╒t easy, but the eggs are safer up here far away
from the hungry mouths of the giant water bugs down below.
After seven days and nights, the water bug╒s extreme dedication finally pays
off.
If only human fathers were all such dedicated homemakers.
After all, keeping house and bringing up the kids was once thought to be
woman╒s work.
For some reason, men and housework just didn╒t go together.
But if you think raising a human family is stressful, spare a thought
for a different kind of water bug.
Instead of raising eggs on plants, this extreme dad rears 150 children on
his back.
A female water bug turns her mate into the ultimate house husband by
cementing her eggs on to his wing cases.
The giant water bug is number seven in the countdown, because caring this
precious cargo for a month is truly back breaking labor.
Our next contender is hidden high in the mountains of the Andes.
Meet the rhea, an extreme dad that╒s also called the South American
ostrich.
Thanks to this nest, he is very popular with the girls.
In fact, he has a harem of five females who take turns laying eggs in
his nest.
But once the females have laid their eggs, they run away, for these girls
just want to have fun.
And that╒s why the male rhea is number six in the countdown.
He is left to raise the family and he takes his job very seriously.
He╒ll spend the next two months on the nest and he is so dedicated that he╒ll
starve himself in the process.
He╒ll survive on just a quarter of his normal food intake.
He can't afford to leave the nest for long because he has to guard his eggs
against all kinds of intruders.
But for this solo dad, sitting around all day is just the first part of his
duties.
Soon, he╒ll have up to 20 new chicks to look after.
The chicks will quickly become imprinted on their huge father╒s form
and for two years will never stray far from his side.
But what about the father?
Why do dads find their babies so appealing?
Well, it seems that human dads maybe preprogrammed to find babies cute and
cuddly.
Scientists have found that we respond warmly to certain features associated
with a baby╒s face.
They have a large forehead, big eyes and a small nose.
Strangely enough we can now see these same features in one of the most
popular toys in the world.
The teddy bear is the best selling toy of all time.
You may not have noticed, but over the last 100 years, the shape of the teddy
bear has changed.
This is one cuddly toy that╒s actually become cuddlier and it╒s all thanks to
our attraction to baby faces.
Originally, teddy bears looked reasonably life like.
They had a small forehead, beady little eyes and a large snout.
But over the years as we looked for bears that were cuter, we selected
toys that we were more and more baby like with large forehead, big eyes and
a small cute nose.
Baby rhea are also small and cute.
We may not turn them into soft toys, but in the eyes of their father, these
chicks are the center of the universe.
The male rhea is number six in the countdown because he╒ll stick close to
his babies until they╒re big enough to look after themselves.
But for the moment, his family of 20 noisy chicks is incredibly vulnerable,
for there are many hungry mouths in the mountains.
When this dad gets clucky, it pays to get out of the way.
For the next two years, these chicks will be guided by their father.
He╒ll not only keep them safe, but also teach them where to find food.
With such dedication, it╒s no wonder that this massive bird really is one
of the most committed fathers in the countdown.
If you thought that this daddy long legs was devoted, coming up our fishy
father that really are the ultimate homemakers.
And we╒ll find out why teaching a family to fly brought one dad down to
earth with a thud.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
Here in the marshes of Northern Japan, construction is especially difficult
for the extreme dad coming in at number five in the countdown.
The stickleback is an extreme carpenter.
When he builds his house, he doesn╒t use nails.
He uses a glue secreted by his kidneys.
His house maybe small, but it╒s perfectly formed.
At least this female stickleback thinks so.
She is quick to cross the threshold with a little encouragement from the
male.
Once she has laid her eggs, he dashes in to fertilize them.
But then it╒s out with the old and in with the new because he wants to lure
as many females as possible into his love shack.
The stickleback is able to fertilize the eggs of up to five females.
But that╒s nothing compared to the theoretical potency of human males.
Every human male has the potential to be an extreme dad.
After all in his lifetime, he╒ll produce an incredible 2000 billion
*** cells.
And since it only takes one *** cell to fertilize an egg, in theory, every
time a man makes love to a woman, he releases enough *** to fertilize
every woman in Europe.
Theoretically, that means the whole world╒s population could be reproduced
in just one day by only 23 men.
But fertilizing eggs is easy.
Looking after them is difficult.
The stickleback is number five in the countdown because of the extreme
effort he puts into caring for his babies.
He fans the eggs with his fins to supply oxygen to the developing
embryos and to wash away any waste products.
He is so driven he╒ll spent two thirds of his day fanning it up to 400 beats
per minute.
This extreme dad can even scare off nosy neighbors unlike the next
contender in the countdown.
Our next contender lives on the flooded plains of Brazil where so much
rain falls that it helps if you can walk on water.
And the Jacana does just that.
It╒s also called the lily trotter for obvious reasons.
But this bizarre bird is number four in the countdown because the male
jacana is an extreme wimp.
He is looking after a nest full of eggs, but his mate has disappeared.
This female is a stranger and she needs a new mate.
But that╒s our male╒s worst nightmare.
He can yell all he likes, but the foreign female is only after one
thing, his eggs.
The ultimate henpecked male could only watch as she smashes his family.
The eggs he so carefully reared were nearly ready to hatch, but now they╒re
lunch for the female.
Having eaten, the female signals to the male that she is now in the mood
for love.
And with the most extreme amnesia in the countdown, the bereaved male mates
with his baby killer.
Later she will lay eggs in his nest.
But because she has many partners on the flood plains, our dad will never
know if he is rearing his chicks or those sired by another henpecked male.
We╒ve seen dads lose their chicks, fish build with sticks and birds get
their kicks.
But coming up, we╒ll discover some dads who just love having a frog in
their throat.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
The next contender in our countdown of extreme dads has a problem.
In Southern Africa, the rains have gone.
These tadpoles are only two days old, but already their pool is drying up
fast.
It╒s lucky they have an extremely devoted dad, the Giant African
Bullfrog.
It╒s his job to protect his 6,000 children and he finds an extreme
solution to their problem.
The bullfrog is number three in the countdown because he digs in to help
his children out.
His powerful legs can build a channel into a bigger pool and so save his
entire family from disaster.
For some dads, bringing up a baby can be really hard work.
In fact, most human fathers have no idea how hard it will be.
For some young men, the journey to fatherhood is no game.
New York City high school student Richard Hammond is learning that
looking after a baby can really upset your social life.
As part of a community pregnancy prevention program, he has been given
a baby for the weekend.
But it╒s no ordinary baby.
It╒s actually a cyborg with a programmable personality.
Richard is part of a program called Baby, Think It Over.
Together with Carol Lambert from Reality Works Incorporated Richard can
learn how to change a baby╒s diapers without any of the mess.
But there╒s much more to this baby than meets the eye.
It was designed by a rocket scientist using state of the art computer
technology.
Inside the baby what runs it is something called the microprocessor
which is essentially a small computer and that╒s what controls baby.
It╒s kind of the heart and soul of baby.
Some of the different types of things that baby is able to do is it will cry
and request that the student feed it.
It might need to have its diaper changed, to be burped, to be rocked
and it will also report how much it was cared for properly in terms of, if
it asked to be fed six times, was it actually fed six times etcetera.
So the reporting that the teacher gets back on how the student did is very
detailed.
So what did Richard think of being a father for the weekend.
It was pretty hard because you can't, like really do what you wanted to do,
like you have to give your undivided attention to the baby at all times and
you can't leave it neglected.
So it really was like time consuming.
My friends will call me and ask me -- why don╒t you come outside and play
basket ball, but I couldn╒t because I have to take care of the baby.
At least Richard doesn╒t have to care for his baby like another extreme
father that lives in the forests of South America.
Darwin╒s frog takes his paternal duties one step further than even the
African bullfrog.
As soon as the female has laid her eggs, it╒s the male╒s job to protect
his family.
So he eats the eggs.
His family develops in their own special pond inside his vocal sacs.
And there╒s a very good reason for this extreme behavior, for in this
forest, there are plenty of predators that eat frogs, both large and small.
Luckily Darwin╒s frog has a cunning plan.
He flips on to his back and plays dead.
Once the danger has passed, he and his babies can swim to safety.
And then after six long weeks, this extreme dad gives birth by throwing
up.
These frogs really give new meaning to the phrase bringing up the baby.
Welcome to Antarctica, the coldest place on earth.
In winter, it gets so cold here everything freezes solid including the
ocean.
This giant ice block is one of the harshest places to live on the planet.
But it╒s home to the coolest contender in the countdown.
Emperor penguins actually travel to Antarctica to breed in the middle of
winter.
They can slide more than 80 kilometers to their frozen breeding grounds.
Here the temperature is usually 40 degrees below zero.
And to make things worse, it will be more than four months before the sun
rises above the horizon again.
Into this frozen darkness, the female produces an egg.
If they leave it on the ground, it will freeze.
So this extreme dad makes a nest from his feet.
He balances this precious egg on top of his toes barely moving for 65 long
days.
The females all left long ago, so the males are left huddled together
waiting for the end of the worst winter on the planet.
When the sun finally returns, there are new arrivals in the colony.
But there╒s problem.
How do you feed a hungry chick when the fridge is empty and you haven╒t
eaten for four months?
The emperor penguin is number two in the countdown because he can feed his
baby with a special stomach secretion that looks a little like milk.
It╒s a nice trick, but could human fathers also produce milk for their
babies?
Men have the necessary equipment to make milk.
Most scientists think that nipples are just one of those sexually neutral
pieces of equipment that humans get regardless of sex like arms or brains.
Men╒s nipples are fully functional, but their development is usually
completely suppressed by male hormones.
But throughout history, there have been stories of men producing breast
milk, enough even to raise a baby.
Having just had a baby, freelance writer Laura Shanley and her partner
David decided to test the theory with surprising results.
David decided that he wanted to see if he could produce milk simply through
suggestion.
So he began saying belief suggestions that he would produce milk and within
a week one breast swelled up and milk began dripping out.
I looked at his breast and it was-- one breast was bigger than the other
and I saw the milk dripping out.
It is happening out there.
It╒s just that most men are too ashamed to admit it.
But emperor penguins aren╒t ashamed.
These extreme dads know that a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is
necessary when you nest so far from food.
Even so, it╒s a vast relief when after two months away, the females return
with stomachs full of fish.
But big bellies and small babies make completing the transfer difficult.
This is one time when you don╒t want to stand on your partner╒s toes.
Emperor penguin chicks are lucky they have a father that takes child care in
his stride.
But even the coolest dad can't compete with the animal that╒s number one in
the countdown.
We╒ve seen the nine contenders.
They╒re the best of the best.
Only one animal is a more extreme fathering machine.
It╒s number one and it╒s coming up next on The Most Extreme.
Welcome to Miami.
This is one place where you can find the most extreme dad in the countdown.
In these waters, there are males that make the ultimate sacrifice in the
name of fatherhood, for here your mother is also your father.
The number one most extreme dad in the countdown is the seahorse.
Male seahorses are extremely romantic.
When they╒re in the mood for love, they╒ll dance for three days and it╒s
all for a good reason.
Dancing gives these guys a huge potbelly and that╒s a real turn on for
female seahorses.
Dancing close to his massive stomach, it takes only seconds for the female
to lay hundreds of eggs inside the male.
The seahorse is the number one most extreme dad in the countdown because
it╒s the male that gets pregnant.
That massive stomach is actually a brood pouch.
The walls of his belly provide nourishment for the developing eggs
inside him.
Unfortunately, human males don╒t have the necessary equipment to get
pregnant.
But that doesn╒t stop some from trying.
In 1996, British journalist Adrian Gatton become a human seahorse.
To experience what his pregnant partner was going through, he
simulated all the symptoms of pregnancy.
He drank salt water to suffer from morning sickness.
He wore a false belly weighing 10 kilograms and strapped on weights to
his ankles.
A constant diet of high fiber foods generated a steady supply of internal
gas.
And he even suffered tenderness of the chest region by applying clothespins
to his nipples.
Guys, don╒t try this at home.
After nine months of this regime, most men would have a healthy respect for
those with a bun in the oven.
So spare a thought for the male seahorse.
He can have a thousand buns in his swollen oven and it╒s four long weeks
before his contractions begin.
Then this extraordinary dad gives birth.
These baby seahorses have a truly unique father.
No other dad goes to such extraordinary lengths to look after
his babies.
So it╒s no wonder that when it comes to fatherhood, the seahorse really is
The Most Extreme.