To determine what percent of wild animals "care" about their children, we need to consider the proportion of wild animal species that exhibit parental care—behaviors such as feeding, protecting, or nurturing their offspring after birth or hatching. Wild animals encompass all non-domesticated species across mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, and the answer hinges on estimating how many of these species demonstrate such care.
The animal kingdom is vast, with approximately 1.5 million described species. Invertebrates, particularly insects, dominate this count, making up over 95% of all species (around 1.44 million), while vertebrates—mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish—comprise about 60,000 species, or roughly 4%. Parental care varies widely across these groups, so let’s break it down:
Mammals: With about 6,000 species, nearly all exhibit parental care, typically through nursing and protecting their young. This gives us approximately 6,000 species with care.
Birds: Around 10,000 species exist, and most engage in parental care, such as incubating eggs and feeding chicks. We’ll estimate 10,000 species with care.
Reptiles: Of about 10,000 species, only a minority—like some crocodiles and lizards—show care, such as guarding eggs or hatchlings. Estimating conservatively, perhaps 20% (2,000 species) exhibit care.
Amphibians: With 7,000 species, some frogs and salamanders guard eggs or carry tadpoles. Assuming 30% provide care, that’s about 2,100 species.
Fish: Among 30,000 species, some, like certain cichlids, guard eggs or young, but many do not. If 20% exhibit care, that’s 6,000 species.
Invertebrates: This group, including over 1 million insect species, is the largest. Parental care is rare—seen in some bees, ants, beetles, and spiders—but not the norm. Estimating 0.5% of 1.44 million species gives us about 7,200 species with care.
Adding these estimates:
Vertebrates: 6,000 (mammals) + 10,000 (birds) + 2,000 (reptiles) + 2,100 (amphibians) + 6,000 (fish) = 26,100 species.
Invertebrates: 7,200 species.
Total with parental care: 26,100 + 7,200 = 33,300 species.
Dividing by the total number of species (1,500,000), the percentage is:
33,3001,500,000×100≈2.22%\frac{33,300}{1,500,000} \times 100 \approx 2.22\%\frac{33,300}{1,500,000} \times 100 \approx 2.22\%
Given the roughness of these estimates—especially for invertebrates, where care might be even less common—this figure suggests that around 2–3% of wild animal species exhibit parental care. The dominance of invertebrates, where care is minimal, pulls the percentage down significantly, despite near-universal care in mammals and birds.
However, the question’s phrasing, "care" in quotation marks, might imply a broad or intuitive interpretation. Still, in biological terms, parental care typically includes any post-birth or post-hatching investment, aligning with our calculation. Rounding for simplicity and acknowledging the approximations, a reasonable answer is 3%.
Thus, approximately 3 percent of wild animals care about their children, reflecting the small fraction of species that invest in their offspring amidst the vast diversity of life.
