14 Bad Animal MOMS

Every parent knows that raising kids is a tough job. Most children stay at home until they are at least 18 years old, if not older, and their upkeep is usually expensive. Actually, a recent US Government report showed that it now costs an average of $233,610 to raise a child.

Randy Rabbits! It’s no surprise that rabbits have a bit of a reputation when it comes to breeding. After all, they can have to up to 16 kits in one litter, and can be impregnated again within hours of giving birth! Mother rabbits will leave their babies alone almost

Darwin Frogs! Baby Darwin Frogs, an endangered species of tiny frog found in South America, may have terrible mothers to contend with, but at least their dad sticks around to take care of them. After breeding, the females lay about 40 eggs, and that’s

Lionesses! While lionesses aren’t typically the worst mothers in the world, the strange dynamics of the lion pride does rather affect their devotion to their existing children. Should the leader of a pride be dethroned by a younger, stronger lion, one of the first

Hooded Grebe! Ask every parent if they have a favourite child, and they’ll be horrified at the prospect of having to choose. Not so, for the hooded grebe. This South American bird lays two eggs which she and her mate then incubate on floating nests.

Hamsters! Hamsters make adorable pets, with their cute twitchy noses and, well, their love for plastic wheels. Watch out if your pet hamster ends up pregnant, however, as you may soon find that your cute pet turns into something of a cold-

Horses! Female horses have developed a very strange social behaviour, apparently designed to disguise which stallion is the father of her foal. Once pregnant, a mare will continue to have sex with all the stallions in her vicinity. This helps to protect her foal

Tasmanian Devil! Tasmanian devils are the queens of hedging their bets when it comes to mating and rearing their young. Not only does the female devil mate with several males during breeding season – meaning that there can be multiple fathers in

Skinks! Lizards aren’t noted generally for their affectionate mothering, but even among this rather cold-hearted (and cold-blooded) group, the long-tailed skink has to take the prize for the worst mom. Should mummy skink happen to lay her eggs when

Burying Beetles! Every mother will know the feeling of being pestered - whether the child wants a particular toy, doesn’t want to go to bed or just can’t bear to be out of sight for a few minutes, most moms rarely get a minute’s peace. Burying beetles have

Black Eagles! The black eagle mother often demonstrates the ultimate in hands-off parenting, even going so far as to allow one of her chicks to kill the other without interfering in the slightest. The nest-based squabbles are common among eagles, and

Panda! Everyone loves pandas, especially their adorable little babies. Everyone, it seems, except mother pandas themselves. Pandas, which are well known for having difficulties in breeding, will usually have two cubs, but mom will only ever raise one,

House Sparrow! The house sparrow is a perfectly good mom to its own chicks. It is actually the babies of other sparrows that have to watch out! Breeding time for sparrows is like something out of Jerry Springer, with mother sparrows making it their

Black Bears! The old line about never getting between a mother bear and her cubs doesn’t always apply to black bears. In fact, sometimes female black bears will go so far as to get rid of one of their cubs themselves, if they come to the conclusion that

Harp Seals! Baby harp seals, also known as pups, spend a very confusing first two weeks on the planet. When they are first born, mom couldn’t be more attentive, feeding her pup every day on high-fat milk that helps them build up the protective