According to Hemanth P. But despite their rarity, life-long partnerships throughout the animal kingdom can be found, from canine power couples to worms who take the idea of becoming one to a whole new level. Here are seven animals that are in it for the long haul.
In a grey wolf pack, it is usually only the male and female alpha who are allowed to breed, The pair mate for life as a way to cement their position as pack leaders, producing a new litter each year and ensuring the stability of the rest of the pack.
As explained by David W. Macdonald et al in Monogamy: Cause, Consequence, or Corollary of Success in Wild Canids , monogamy makes it easier for alphas to display their strength and superiority over the other male members of the pack. Defending one mate against advances is much easier than trying to protect numerous partners, assuring their place as top dog. For Eurasian beavers, monogamy is more about practicality than romance.
Unlike their North American counterparts who have been known to mate outside their bonded partners, Eurasian beavers team up for life as a way to increase their chances of survival. Although one of their primary sources of food is tree bark, its lack of nutritional value means that beavers need to eat a lot of bark to keep themselves going.
So, by pairing up, couples can split their workload and ensure everything gets done. Sadly, one of the two eggs each mother lays typically dies. True love waits -- for a little while, anyway. Penguin breeds including gentoo, chinstrap and Adelie mate with the same partner year after year. Occasionally, a penguin will choose two or three partners in a year.
Tara Mills began writing professionally in Mills has also volunteered with animal-rescue organizations, serving companion animals large and small. By using the site, you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our Policy, and to our Terms of Use. Molecular Ecology. The Penguins. Oxford University Press: New York. Donate now Donate now. Email your favorite people a positive message. Send as many as you want for FREE. Guaranteed to make you giggle, marvel, and matter.
By clicking send you to agree to receive the latest news about penguins. Don't worry you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Hit enter to search or ESC to close. Tag do penguins mate for life Penguins International. Monogamy Monogamy can mean different things to different people, encompassing, for example: Marital monogamy, i. Social monogamy, i. Sexual monogamy, i. Genetic monogamy i. Monogamy within human societies It has been suggested that few human societies are monogamous, despite what many of us like to believe.
For example, of 1, societies reviewed in one study: were deemed monogamous; displayed occasional polygyny where a man has multiple wives simultaneously ; displayed frequent polygyny; and 4 displayed polyandry where a woman has multiple husbands simultaneously.
Monogamy within penguin societies What, then, of penguins? Accordingly: In species that take long turns on the nest e. Adelie and Macaroni Penguins , if a pair fails to synchronise effectively and raise a chick in any given year, they are less likely to pair up again the next year.
Conversely, there seems to be no such correlation in species that take frequent short turns on the nest e. Gentoo Penguins. All other species of penguins lay two eggs. The two parents will take turns holding the eggs between their legs for warmth in a nest. The one exception is the emperor penguin.
The female of this species will place the egg on the male's feet to keep warm in his fat folds while she goes out and hunts for several weeks. When penguin chicks are ready to hatch, they use their beaks to break through the shell of their eggs.
This process can take up to three days. After the chicks emerge, the parents will take turns feeding their offspring with regurgitated food. Penguin parents can identify their offspring by unique calls that the chick will make. According to the Red List of Threatened Species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, four penguin species are endangered: northern rockhopper , erect-crested , yellow-eyed , jackass and Galapagos penguins.
Most of the other species of penguins are listed as vulnerable or threatened. The chinstrap penguin has a stripe of black that runs from one side of its head to the other. This strip looks like a chinstrap. The shape of all penguins makes them aerodynamic.
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