Dear Dad, - letters that young animals may have written to their fathers on Father's Day

Ranger Rick, June, 2001 by Nora Steiner Mealy

If young animals could send Father's Day letters to their dads . . .

Dear Papa,

Gosh, Dad, I love you because you're so cool . . . I mean warm! I guess being an emperor penguin dad isn't easy for you. You spent the cold, Antarctic winter huddling around with the other pops. You balanced my egg on your feet to keep it warm and safe. Remember that?

Now that I've hatched, you still help keep me nice and toasty (see photo, pages 2-3). You're helping take care of me while Mom is fishing in the ocean.

Love, Penny

Dear Feather (oops) Father,

You're such a great black-winged stilt dad. I love how you keep us from getting too cold. You and Mom sat on the nest when we were still inside our eggs to keep us warm. Now that we've hatched, you're still helping out.

Like today. Right after we hatched we felt chilly.

So we stretched up on our long legs and found a warm place under your wing. (See our legs in the photo?) Only Little Elmer didn't join us. He just stood there on the nest, watching. But he's weird.

Thanks for being such a good dad!

Stella

Dear Dad,

I found this old photo of our family, and just wanted to say thanks for being such a great emu (EE-moo) father. I'll bet you can't forget those weeks when we were in our shells--you didn't leave us for a moment, not even to eat or drink. You did look a bit thin when we finally hatched!

Now that I'm a year-and-a-half old, I think I'm ready to be on my own. But don't worry about being lonely. I think Mom has another batch of eggs for you to sit on!

XOXOX Edgar

Dear Daddy,

Here's my first baby picture, along with Sister Sheila. Or is it Shelley? With 200 brother and sister seahorses, it's hard to remember who's who. This picture was taken when we were just coming out of your pouch. It was so cozy in there while we waited to be born! Pop--did you know that, in most other animals, the mom is the one who gets pregnant? Weird!

Love, Celia

Dear Popster,

We loved riding piggy . . . I mean buggy-back on you when we were just eggs. Giant water bug eggs sure have a neat way to stay safe. I'm glad Mom put that strong glue-like stuff on your back before hitching us on board. You didn't feel, um . . . stuck with us, did you?

Love, Bugsy

Dear Pops,

Ever since you slurped me up when I was a tiny tadpole, I knew you were one special dad. Most tadpoles have to swim around a pond and look after themselves. But I'm lucky to be a Darwin's frog. Yup! I got to spend my first six weeks living and growing in your vocal sac. It was nice and safe in there. Oh--and thanks for finally spitting me out!

Ribbet! Charles

Dear Dad,

Thanks for being such a big-mouth! Whenever a big, scary fish came along and looked like it was going to eat us, you let us scoot right back inside your mouth. Some dads would think that raising a bunch of little golden Mozambique mouth-brooders would be a real handful . . . I mean mouthful. But we know you liked the job!

Love, Joaquim

Dear Father,

You're one doggone terrific gray wolf dad! This picture shows one of our favorite times--when you return from hunting. You never get mad when we come running up, wagging our tails, and licking, kissing, and nipping you. We love what you do next. You barf! What a great way for you to bring us fresh meat. And why shouldn't we "wolf" it down?

Lotsa licks, Marcelo and Marcela