Bad dads in the animal world

Lions, grizzly bears, and bass are considered the worst fathers because they are willing to kill or eat their young.

Lion

A newly-crowned male lion usually kills all of the previous leader’s cubs. The father lion spends most of the day lying in the shade, waiting for the female lion to bring food. The female lion is responsible for hunting and caring for the cubs, while the male’s job is to defend the territory from other prides and scavengers such as hyenas. The male lion is always the first to eat the prey, leaving only scraps of meat for the remaining members, including his cubs. If conditions are harsh, the leader will let his wife and cubs starve first.

Grizzly Bear

Rare is the animal kingdom that eats its cubs unless it is absolutely necessary, but male grizzly bears will. They are extremely territorial, able to defend ranges of up to 2,400 km, and are opportunistic hunters, willing to kill and eat anything that enters their territory, including their own cubs. This means that mother bears must not only provide food and teach their cubs to survive, but also ensure that the cubs never stray into their father’s territory.

Sea bass

Even a species as protective as the male bass is prone to cannibalism. This behavior occurs after most of the young swim away and only a few remain. The male suddenly stops protecting his young from predators and swallows all the slow-moving young as a reward for himself after helping the healthy individuals survive.

Sand goby

Sand gobies often choose to eat the largest eggs in the brood. Photo: NBC — Sand gobies often choose to eat the largest eggs in the brood. Photo: *NBC*

Similarly, male sand gobies relentlessly guard their eggs against predators, but even when there is plenty of food available, they still eat about a third of the brood. Research has revealed that male sand gobies decide which eggs to keep or eat based on size. Male sand gobies tend to eat the largest eggs. In many species, larger offspring mean a higher chance of survival, making them the most protective members of the family. But the sand goby knows that the largest egg takes the longest to hatch. Eating the slowest-to-hatch egg will allow him to get out and return to mate as soon as possible.

Assassin bugs

The male assassin bug is tasked with guarding the eggs until they hatch. His strategy is to primarily feed on the outer edges of the egg sac, which are most likely to fall victim to parasitic wasps. This defense strategy is so effective that the assassin bug can completely avoid any potential parasites in the lab. Scientists believe that egg-eating is not only the only way to defend itself against parasites, but also provides nutrients for the male assassin bug when it cannot crawl around foraging.

An Khang (According to Mental Floss )

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