"The way we achieve immortality is by leaving our genes behind in our offspring."
There's a million ways to go about making babies in the bush, but bringing baby into the world is only the beginning, as the final episode of Sex in the Bush explores. Offspring have to be given the very best chance of carrying on the family line, no matter what it takes - putting babies' as well as parents' lives at stake.
The Gastric Brooding Frog mother swallows her young so they develop in her stomach, preventing her from eating for six weeks. The matriphagy spider lets her babies eat her, sacrificing her life to ensure her genes are passed on... perhaps she's the ultimate mother? And the Elephant seal mother will transfer nearly half her body weight to her pup.
While it's often mum that puts her life on hold for her young, other mothers palm all the care off onto dad. Father Emu gets lumbered with caring for the chicks - unfair considering he doesn't even know if they are his own!
Others have it all worked out - the more the merrier. Chough parents rope in helpers to bring up their young. However these helpers are so desirable they often get kidnapped by other groups! Emperor Penguins run the ultimate crèche in Antarctica - but how do they find their chicks amongst the mass of grey fluff?
Some ultra-demanding young have to be taken virtually all the way. Quoll mothers carry their young around so they learn the skills needed to survive - and kangaroo daughters get to hang around with their grandmothers. Dolphins take this to the extreme - with highly advanced skills passed from generation to generation.
It's all very well getting baby to breeding age, but in some cases they have to be shown the first steps to getting a mate. Courtship can be really complex, and getting it right is the difference between winning the chance to mate or not... And that is what it all comes down to.
