Meet our top 5 native animal dads

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing Dad's out there!

As we spend the weekend celebrating these amazingly important people in our lives, we've done some research into Australian native animals and found many where the male of the species also plays an important role nurturing their young. Here's our top 5:

Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata)

This Father’s Day, the male malleefowl is really pitching in. Having spent the winter building a large nest out of sand, leaves, sticks and bark, this expectant father is eagerly awaiting the laying of some 15 to 24 eggs in September and beyond. He is doting and monogamous, having formed a strong bond with the hen. For months he has toiled over a mound up to 75cm high with a diameter between 270 and 450cm. Inside, he has shaped a crater 300cm wide and 90cm deep which will be used to incubate the eggs.

During the nesting period, the male will keep the mound’s temperature close to a comfortable 33C, using his beak as a probe to measure the temperature. Heat is generated by the rotting vegetation aided by the sun, so the male will continuously scratch open the mound to allow more solar heat to penetrate and close it to allow it to cool. Once the eggs are laid, he will do all in his power to maintain the perfect incubator until the well-developed hatchlings kick and scratch their way through the sand and debris to the surface. Without so much as a backward glance, or a “thanks dad”, the hatchlings will immediately run and hide in the scrub and take flight within 24 hours.

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)

The tallest of our native birds may stand up to 2m and run 48km per hour, but his greatest superpower as a dad is his patience. Having paired with his partner over summer/autumn, mated in winter and prepared a nest on the ground, the male emu will remain nearby as the female lays between five and 15 eggs. The female will then leave the nest and allow dad to take over the incubation process by sitting on the eggs to keep them warm for an impressive eight weeks. For those 60 days, he will rarely eat and will lose a lot of weight. When the young hatch, they are raised exclusively by their fathers for five to 18 months.

Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques)

This rare and striking species is not only South Australia’s marine emblem but is renowned for its very nurturing fathers. Leafy seadragons are found only in southern Australian waters where they can be sighted by fortunate scuba divers near Rapid Bay, Edithburgh and Victor Harbor.

As with all seahorses, the male leafy seadragon cares for the eggs – a lot of eggs. The female produces up to 250 bright pink eggs then deposits them in special brood pouches on the male’s tail. When the eggs are ready to hatch nine weeks later, the male pumps his tail until the young emerge from the pouch and further aids hatching by rubbing his tail against seaweed and rocks.

The White-backed Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen telonocua)

This proud and protective dad is highly sociable but can get a pretty bad rap at breeding time. Magpies are very territorial and will defend the nest vigorously between August and October. While most magpies don’t swoop, approximately 12 percent of male magpies will go to extreme lengths to ward off potential threats. Understandably, these dads are just being protective of their babies. They will also bring food to the female while she is incubating (not quite breakfast in bed, but everything helps!)

Magpies are also renowned for being great stepdads. Generally, magpies mate for life and only search for a new partner when one dies. However, males have been known to connect with a female who already has eggs or hatchlings and will adopt the young as his own, helping care for the chicks.

Slightly akin to human teenagers being encouraged to leave home, the magpie parents will eventually force their independent youngsters to leave the territory after about two years.

Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor)

The Little Penguin is the only penguin to breed in Australia and the male takes his fatherhood role very seriously. Around April, this little dynamo will begin digging a nesting burrow – which can be up to 1.6km from shore – and will then make squawking noises to call nearby female penguins to inspect his handiwork. The female chooses her preferred burrow and that male will be her mate for the year. Both parents will fiercely defend a small space around the burrow during the breeding season, growling to warn other penguin intruders away.

Two white eggs are laid during autumn and winter and incubate for 36 days. In a doting and determined partnership, both dad and mum take turns incubating the eggs. Their shifts can be up to 10 days long and hatching is a very slow process taking up to three days. In sympathy with their sleep-deprived human counterparts, penguins sleep for only about four minutes at a time!

The first chick emerges in June and mum and dad both attend to chicks until they fledge, which usually begins in August. It is not uncommon for adults to raise two sets of chicks so there are chicks in the colony until January. The juvenile becomes free living after about 57 days. Hopefully then, the fatigued father penguin may get a little more sleep.