When animals have babies, we often ascribe human feelings to what they're likely going through. They must be proud and happy showing off those sweet, little babies, we figure. After all, look how adorable the wee ones are.
But as proud and as happy as they might look, do animal parents really feel that way?
We checked in with Jonathan Balcombe, the director of Animal Sentience with the Humane Society Institute for Science, who has published more than 50 scientific papers on animal behavior, as well as several books including "Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good."
"Having researched and written two books on animal pleasure, I feel well qualified that say that animals clearly know happiness," Balcombe says. "Bearing and raising young surely brings many forms of satisfaction and joy for animal parents, as we know it does for us."
The idea of whether animals experience pride may not be so clear.
"Whether they feel 'pride' is an interesting question, and a rather anthropomorphic one in that it is an emotion that we egocentric humans know well, but one that might not apply to non-humans," Balcombe says. "I don't think that matters though; what is important to recognize is that other species have lives that matter to them and that is not just because they have an interest in avoiding pain and suffering, but because they also seek pleasures and rewards."
With that in mind, here's a photo roundup of some animal parents with their new offspring. (They certainly seem happy!)
'Yep, I made these.' (Photo: yasmapaz & ace_heart/flickr)
Sweetie looks awfully happy with her new puppy. (Photo: SmileLikeAKat/imgur)
They're just so teeny. (Photo: mjconns/Reddit)
Sophia, an orangutan at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo, holds her new baby. (Photo: Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society)
This bulldog dad hangs out with his son. (Photo: STARER_OF_CAMELTOES/imgur)
This Australian shepherd mom has a little guy who looks just like her. (Photo: Techdestro/Reddit)
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Mary Jo DiLonardo writes about everything from health to parenting — and anything that helps explain why her __dog does what he does.
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Happy animal parents show off their babies
