1. Lion
All mothers are protective of their children, but no mother is more protective of their child than the lioness. Mothers and their young cubs will spend most of their time away from the pride, with the cub relying entirely on their mother for this period. Remaining dependent on their mother for up to two years, or until the cub is able to look after itself, there’s nothing the lioness wouldn’t do to protect her cubs from harm. See lions on an African safari, particularly all our family safaris to Namibia, our Kenya Family Adventure & Safari, Tribal Adventure in Tanzania, Okavango Delta Family Safari (Botswana) and our Big Five Kruger Family Safari.
2. African elephant
Pregnancy is a wonderful thing. Nothing can compare to the feeling of bringing a new life in to the world, but after nine months, you might start to think you’ve had enough. Well, spare a thought for the African elephant. Not only do they give birth to one of the largest babies on earth, an average weight of 200 pounds, but they also have to endure a 22-month pregnancy! That deserves an extra special Mother’s Day present from any of their calves. You can see African elephants on all of the trips listed under lions, meaning you can see both on the same holiday! See all our Africa trips here.
3. Orangutan
They say a mothers work is never done, and that’s especially true for the female orang-utan! One of the ultimate single mothers, the female orang-utan spends nearly all of her time up in the treetops, where she builds a new nest for their young every single night. Making up to 30,000 homes in her lifetime, the female orang-utan is able to do all this while never putting her baby down! Mum of the Year Award anyone? Meet the orangutans in Borneo, and choose from our Sarawak Jungle Adventure holiday, or our Active Borneo trip which combines wildlife and exciting activities.
4. Strawberry Poison Arrow Frog
When we’re young, we always think that our mum is a superhero, but that actually could be true for tadpoles of a female strawberry poison arrow frog. After hatching, the mother will carry her tadpoles on her back along the dangerous rainforest floor before ascending to heights of one hundred feet to rest them in water pools made from bromeliad leaves. Not only capable of scaling great heights, this super mum is also able to create her own food, allowing all of her tadpoles to not go to bed hungry! See these vibrant creatures in Costa Rica on our Wild Costa Rica or Costa Rica Wildlife Adventure holidays.
5. Cheetah
All mothers will tell you, raising one child is hard enough. A female cheetah would see one cub as a luxury, typically giving birth to a litter of three cubs at one time. With cubs being virtually helpless, the mother must teach them to hunt prey and avoid other predators, and this training can take over a year to sink in before the cubs finally venture off on their own, thus proving that mum really does know best. See Cheetahs on an African safari, where they can be regularly seen in the Serengeti on our Tanzania Family Safari or Tanzania Safari & Zanzibar Island, or in the Masai Mara on our Kenya Family Adventure & Safari. All our family safaris to Namibia also have a good chance of seeing cheetah, with some of these holidays including visits to the AfriCat Foundation, which rehomes predators such as leopard and cheetah.
6. Alligator
Not only an expert gardener, capable of making compost so good it can warm her eggs without her having to, the female alligator is able to one-up the comfort of a mother’s hug. Placing her new born hatchling in her mouth, the mother alligator will keep them here to protect them from predators. With not many animals (or people!) brave enough to go near an alligators jaw, it’s one of the safest places on earth to raise a baby. Whilst we don't have any holidays which see alligators, we do offer several where you may be able to see their distant relative - the caiman. These smaller reptiles can be found in Latin and South America, particularly our 'Wildlife Adventure' trips to Brazil, Argentina and Costa Rica.
7. Snowy Owl
They say nothing is truly lost until mum can’t find it, but what it should be is nothing is truly lost until a mother snowy owl can’t find it. With super vision and super hearing, a mother snowy owl can identify the slightest movement in the snow before she swoops down to grab her prey. Able to hear her chicks before they’re even hatched, a snowy owl is always listening to her chicks; much like our dear mums. If you’re really lucky – you might be able to spot a snowy owl on a trip to Finland, but it’s very rare, as they can mostly be found even further north than Finland!.
Spare a thought for the dads…
Although Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate all the wonderful things your mum does for you, don’t forget to take a second to think about your dad as well. With dads doing just as an amazing job as the mothers! The ultimate dad has to be the male emperor penguin. The male emperor penguin will sit with their chick’s egg beneath their legs for two months straight, never leaving its side while the mother goes to replenish her nutritional reserves. The father goes without feeding throughout the freezing winter, as it’s battered with winds of up to 120 miles per hour. That’s one dedicated dad! See emperor penguins on a tailor-made trip to Antarctica.
Inspired? Let us take you there…
Read our Guide to Mother’s Day Around the World
Call us today to speak to one of our wildlife experts on 01962 302062.
