Which animal is the most devoted parent?

Months of fasting, years of carrying, and a few that give their lives for a single clutch of eggs. Decide whose devotion deserves the top spot.

1. 1
   Giant Panda

   Mother cradles a cub that is born the size of a stick of butter and nurses it for over a year.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Wolf Spider

   Mother drags her egg sac behind her and then carries dozens of spiderlings on her back.
   777pts
3. 3
   Orangutan

   Mothers nurse and carry their young for up to seven years, the longest childhood of any animal besides humans.
   777pts
4. 4
   Giant Pacific Octopus

   Mother tends her eggs for months without feeding, dying as soon as they hatch.
   678pts
5. 5
   Elephant

   Calves are raised by the whole herd, with mothers and aunts shielding them for years.
   678pts
6. 6
   Orca

   Sons stay with their mothers for life, and grandmothers keep sharing fish with grown offspring.
   555pts
7. 7
   Cheetah

   Single mothers hide, feed and train cubs alone for 18 months against lions and hyenas.
   555pts
8. 8
   Albatross

   Lifelong pairs share a year-long incubation and feeding effort for a single chick.
   555pts
9. 9
   Emperor Penguin

   Fathers balance a single egg on their feet for two months of Antarctic winter without eating.
   555pts
10. 10
    Gorilla

    Silverback protects the group's infants, and mothers carry and nurse young for three to four years.
    555pts
11. 11
    Nile Crocodile

    Both parents guard the nest, and the mother gently carries newborns in her mouth to a nursery pool.
    0pts
12. 12
    Wolf

    Whole packs regurgitate food for pups, and both parents stay together to raise each litter.
    0pts
13. 13
    Seahorse

    Male carries the eggs in a brood pouch, regulating oxygen and salinity until the fry are born.
    0pts
14. 14
    Poison Dart Frog

    Parents ferry tadpoles one by one on their backs to tiny pools high in the trees and feed them unfertilised eggs.
    0pts
15. 15
    Polar Bear

    Mother fasts for months in a snow den while nursing her cubs, then teaches them to hunt for two more years.
    0pts
16. 16
    Swan

    Pairs mate for life and both parents carry cygnets on their backs and defend them fiercely.
    0pts
17. 17
    American Alligator

    Mother guards her nest for months, then carries hatchlings to the water in her jaws and protects them for up to two years.
    0pts
18. 18
    Darwin's Frog

    Father swallows the tadpoles and raises them inside his vocal sac until they hop out as froglets.
    0pts
19. 19
    Harp Seal

    Mother nurses her pup on fat-rich milk for twelve days, barely leaving its side on the ice.
    0pts
20. 20
    Koala

    Joey rides in the pouch and then on its mother's back for a year while she weans it onto eucalyptus.
    0pts

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