These Adorable Hamster Dads Take Fatherhood Seriously

Most mammalian dads are pretty absent from their offspring’s lives.
That sets the Djungarian hamster apart from its fellow fathers.
These hamster dads are involved in the birth of their pups, care
for them in infancy and even provide food during weaning. They also
let the mother hamster go on cooldown walks outside of the burrow,
which professor of veterinary medicine and hamster expert Katherine
Wynne-Edwards thinks could be essential to the survival of the
species in its superharsh environment. But there’s also some
familiar mate selection at play: female Djungarian hamsters choose
to mate with males who will provide quality parental care. Follow
guest host Elah Feder’s work Recommended reading: Why Don't Bees
Celebrate Father's Day? Men Are More Prepared for Fatherhood Than
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Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper,
Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was reported by Elah
Feder and co-hosted by Rachel Feltman and Elah Feder. This episode
was edited by Jeff DelViscio with fact-checking by Shayna Posses
and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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