Tomorrow is Father’s day and animals are not normally thought of as being good fathers. For most species, the mothers do most of the work feeding and nurturing their young. Owl monkeys appear to be an exception!

If there were a competition for “best father” in the animal kingdom, owl monkeys might very well win.

Why? Because father owl monkeys provide most of the care needed by their young–carrying them almost all the time, even when chased by predators. By contrast, caregiving from owl monkey mothers to their young is limited almost exclusively to nursing.

Considering the high prevalence of “deadbeat dads” and even “cannibal dads” in the animal kingdom, why–of all creatures–are father owl monkeys so attentive and protective of their young? This question is answered by Patricia C. Wright of Stony Brook University in the accompanying video.