Some fathers are awesome parents, like the fathers of the seahorses who give birth to 2,000 babies.

• Fathers have an important role to play in the education of their children and the same goes for some animal species such as fish, insects and birds.
• Some animal dads do not eat while their children are growing, while others ensure their survival by protecting their young.
• Watch the video above to find out what it takes to be a father in some parts of the animal kingdom.

Imagine that you are about to be a proud new father. But first, you have to give birth to 2,000 babies.

Sounds painful, does not it? Well, if you're a hippocampus, that's part of the job. It turns out that there are a lot of animal fathers doing all the hard work.

The hard-headed catfish imposes an extreme parental sacrifice. To protect the eggs, he will hold them in his mouth. And it's not just one or two eggs. This can go up to 65. Eggs take up so much space that he can not eat because he is likely to swallow one.

He goes to fast more than two months, the time that the eggs develop. Believe it or not, the giant water bug takes on an even heavier burden. Females lay up to 100 eggs on the male's back. He will carry the eggs for the next 2 to 3 weeks, as they develop.

But during this time, eggs and mucus stick its wings so that it can no longer fly, making it vulnerable to predators. In addition, the eggs weigh so much that he has to rely on slower and easier prey, such as snails. Or he just does not eat at all!

But it is worth it, to ensure the safety of his future offspring. Fortunately for the water virus, however, he can resume his normal life once the eggs have hatched and the babies are doing their own thing.

This is not the case with the male knot. He does not stay there to raise his chicks alone. He raises several families at once.

During the breeding season, the male rhea builder will build a nest to attract as many females as possible. He will form a group of about 5 to 7 females and will mate with them that season. The females lay their eggs in their nest, then knotted back – for good. Letting him raise and defend the 30 or so chicks – until they are about 6 months old. Talk about the challenge of being a single parent!

Finally, the male emperor penguin does a lot of hard work from the beginning. The females entrust their eggs to the males. But as penguins do not have nests, males have to play a delicate balance game. Keep the egg warm over their feet and away from the frozen ground on which they stand. They can not hunt or search for food. They must stay put – and protect the egg.

But hard work does not stop there. As the chicks hatch, fathers are deprived of fasting for weeks.

But chicks must be fed. So Dad manages to regurgitate a little food from his esophagus to feed the chick until mom returns.

Thank you, dad.

It seems like there are a lot of animal dads who deserve a prize for the father of the year.