• Question: Why is it that the male of the couple of seahorses gives birth to the young?

    Asked by anawesomepersonlol to Claire, Kate, Matt, Rob, Sam on 24 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sam Geen

      Sam Geen answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      In a lot of sea animals, the eggs and sperm are released into the water and mix in the water. In seahorses, the male has a special pouch where the eggs can grow, so they catch the eggs in their pouch. The males still use less energy than the females do to make the eggs, though. Only 5% of seahorses survive to adulthood, but this is still better than a lot of sea creatures thanks to the males protecting the eggs. There’s no real reason why it’s the males that carry the eggs – that’s just the way it’s worked out. Penguins also have a similar arrangement – the males keep the eggs warm in the winter while the females go to the coast to find food.

    • Photo: Claire Lee

      Claire Lee answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      As someone who has actually given birth I can say with experience that this is because the males are AWESOME! 🙂

    • Photo: Matthew Pankhurst

      Matthew Pankhurst answered on 26 Jun 2013:

      They are super progressive and make the rest of us males look bad. That’s why they look so smug too… but seriously, the father makes a big investment in caring for his young, so that his DNA is passed on to the next generation. In most animals this is the other way around, and very unfair when you thin about it. In most species the male can technically have many offspring while the females have less. However, in a lot of species pairs mate for life and both bring up the young. Lots of sea birds do this, partly because its really tough bringing up a little sea bird – it’s a hard environment and they are always hungry!
      Thankfully more and more human dads are being more active in bringing up their young (and it rocks!). However, we’ll never be able to give birth…. so girls win I guess…

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