Taipei Zoo

Many mammals and birds are born unable to survive on their own. Their fur or plumage often differs from that of adults, helping them stay warm or avoid predators, and they rely on parental care to grow and thrive. In the animal kingdom, there are plenty of approaches to raising young—each species has evolved its own parenting strategy to adapt to its environment. Through the parenting behaviors of pumas, emus, African penguins, and greater flamingos, visitors are invited to discover the many ways animals share parenting responsibilities and rethink traditional gender-role stereotypes.

Animals in nature display a remarkable variety of family structures and parenting roles. Greater flamingos are an excellent example of shared parenting. After laying an egg, both parents take turns incubating it. Flamingo chicks are semi-precocial, meaning they cannot move around freely immediately after hatching, but within a few days they begin following their parents to explore their surroundings. Both male and female greater flamingos produce crop milk in their upper digestive tract to feed their chicks, so visitors can often observe chicks begging for food while either parent bends down to feed them. African penguins also share parenting duties. After a pair lays an egg, the male and female take turns incubating it. While one remains at the nest, the other heads out to sea to forage before returning to switch roles—a wonderful example of cooperative parenting. Although male and female emus look very similar, their parenting roles are quite different. After laying her eggs, the female leaves, and the male takes over, incubating the eggs and caring for the chicks on his own for several months. Emus demonstrate that fathers can be both gentle and devoted caregivers. The pumas in the Temperate Zone Animal Area showcase another parenting strategy—that of a full-time mother. After mating, the male leaves, and the female takes sole responsibility for raising the cubs. From finding a safe den and hunting each day to feed her young, to teaching them essential survival skills , the mother puma takes on every aspect of raising her young, highlighting the remarkable resilience and independence often displayed by female animals in nature.

Unlike animals, humans have the ability to make choices and communicate, giving us even greater opportunities to build diverse and inclusive families through mutual understanding and respect. No matter what a family looks like or how responsibilities are shared, wherever people support one another and share responsibilities, that is home. Taipei Zoo warmly invites visitors of all ages to discover the diversity and warmth of family through the parenting strategies of these remarkable animals, and to see that there is no single definition of what a family should be. By learning about the many different family structures found in nature, children can also be inspired to appreciate their parents' love and care, and lend a helping hand with household chores.