These Mothers Are The Best In The Animal Kingdom

1. Koalas

Koalas only consume eucalyptus leaves, which are poisonous. Koalas have specific bacteria in their digestive tracts that protect them against poison, even though it may kill us. The mothers have to do something horrible to keep the joeys alive because they don't have this bacteria when they are born. The mothers start by consuming enough leaves for two people. Then they give the babies their own poop and milk. It seems unpleasant to us, but the mother doesn't mind it or her 22 hours of sleep each day.

2. Alligators

The alligator is the first composter. She lays her eggs in rotten vegetables that create heat, so she can forage for food without worrying about sitting on the eggs. After the offspring are born, the mother will essentially carry them in her mouth and have to educate them how to swim, hunt, and stay safe from other predators. It may sound unusual, but it has worked successfully because alligators haven't needed to change in millions of years.

3. Polar Bears

Unfortunately for polar bears, the females will always be single mothers because the males only stay around long enough to breed with them. After they have done their thing, the ladies gain about 400 pounds of baby weight. If a woman doesn't have enough food to make that much excess weight, her body will just reabsorb the fetus. She has to dig a den where she sleeps until the baby is born for the last two months. The baby leaves the world two years later without even saying thank you.

4. Cheetahs

Many couples are scared of having twins since they will have to perform twice as much effort and buy twice as many things to raise children. A female cheetah usually gives birth to six pups, so having twins would be a big deal for them. The mother has to hunt and take care of all of these pups by herself because they have no instincts. That will last for two years. After that, the mother leaves the cubs alone to form a sibling group. The boys will stay together for life, and the girls will move off on their own to find new partners.

5. Orangutans

Orangutans are incredibly dedicated mothers who do everything for their kids on their own. Orangutans will breastfeed their babies until they are 6 or 7 years old. This is, by the way, the longest time that any mammal on Earth has ever breastfed. Female orangutans spend their whole lives creating nests out of branches and other plants. They make about 30,000 of them for themselves and their babies.

6. Elephants

A lot of our moms like to tell us how they carried us around for nine months and then had a long, painful birth just so we could be born. Next time they do, make sure to inform them that elephant mothers have a 22-month pregnancy and then give birth to a baby elephant that weighs almost 200 pounds. The infants are born blind, therefore not only their mother but also all the other females in the herd help them get around.