MovieChat Forums > La marche de l'empereur (2005) Discussion > Mates of the females who were killed lea...

Mates of the females who were killed leaving their chick?

posted 11 years ago by linda10989
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I have another question...for the fathers who have to leave their chick to die because their mates were killed, has it been known for them to pass their chick to a chickless couple?

It seems cruel for a chick to be left to die when another penguin pair could adopt it...I know adoption is primarily a human concept, but I couldn't help wondering about that...

[–] scootergirl9988 9 years ago

I know this is two years later but...

Only animals that live in one father/multiple mother family units like elephants and lions have been known to "adopt" offspring of another family member who dies or is killed. Penguins do not live in those kinds of family units so if something happens to the father the chick is left to die.

"Nothing is more ill bred than trying to steal the affections of someone else's dog."