Parenthood

Animal parents must constantly balance risk and reward when raising young in open grasslands. While abundant grass promises plentiful food and places for a family to call home, the exposed landscape brings competition and predators. In Zambezi, wild dog parents must focus the energy of their unruly teenagers for survival. In India, an expecting langur mother gets parenting practice by babysitting.

Water is essential to all life on Earth, but too much or too little can be disastrous. Dedication, perseverance and bravery are key to successful parenting in the freshwater world. An extraordinary frog dad scales giant Amazonian trees with his tadpoles on his back, while an elephant mom must choose between the safety of her baby and the quest for water and food during one of the worst droughts.

Parenting in the oceans is extremely rare. However, those animals that take on the challenge have some of the most remarkable parenting strategies on Earth, teaching their young to navigate the coral reef and to master camouflage. In Australia, an orca mother teaches her young how to hunt blue whales, while in Indonesia, a Banggai cardinalfish protects his young inside his mouth.

Raising young in the complex jungle world requires adaptability, and animal parents must become masters of their environment. See how they learn to exploit every opportunity through determination and teamwork. An orangutan mother spends eight years teaching her baby the complexities of jungle living, while a Bromeliad crab becomes the ultimate chemist to create the perfect home for her crablets.

Parenthood is the ultimate journey, from finding a suitable home to providing food and protection for their young. Lionesses teach their cubs how to survive by showing them how to tackle giant buffalo. Burrowing owls provide an underground nest for their chicks and mimic rattlesnakes' sound to protect them. Animal parenting is full of joy and danger, and its success ensures the future of life.