Wild Parents: Three Very Different Ways to Raise a Family
A striped skunk, a barred owl, and a big brown bat all raise their young in very different ways, but each has found a strategy that works for them. Let's take a look at three very different parenting styles all found here in Kansas.
The Striped Skunk: Follow Mom
Striped skunks are mostly solitary animals, but that changes when a mother has kits to raise. In Kansas, female skunks typically give birth to several kits in late spring. The young are born blind and helpless, so they spend their early weeks safely tucked inside a den with their mother.
After about six to eight weeks, the kits are ready to venture outside. This is when things get interesting. The young begin following their mother as she searches for food, giving them a chance to learn how to find and capture the foods they will eventually need to survive on their own. You may even spot a family traveling in a line behind mom.
Mom is responsible for raising the kits on her own. She provides food, protection, and a very important education in the ways of being a skunk. By fall, the young begin heading out on their own. Talk about growing up fast!
The Barred Owl: Teamwork
Barred owl parenting looks a little different. Unlike the striped skunk, both parents play an important role in raising their young.
Female barred owls do most of the incubating and brooding. While she stays with the eggs and young, the male hunts and brings food back to the nest. Once the chicks hatch, both parents continue providing food and protection.
The young barred owls don't immediately become independent after leaving the nest. At around four to five weeks old, they begin climbing onto nearby branches, even though they aren't ready to fly. Their parents continue feeding them for several months while they develop the skills they need to survive.
This is definitely a team effort. One parent stays close to the nest while the other brings home dinner. Eventually, the young owls learn to fly, hunt, and take care of themselves.
The Big Brown Bat: Leave the Baby at Home
Big brown bats have a parenting strategy that might seem unusual to us. Female bats gather together in maternity colonies to raise their young. The babies are born in late spring, and a mother may have one or two pups.
When mom leaves the roost at night to hunt for insects, she doesn't take her pup along. Instead, the young bat stays behind with the other pups in the maternity colony. Mom returns after feeding and carefully identifies her own young before nursing it. As the pup grows, it learns to fly and eventually begins joining its mother on foraging trips.
This may sound like a strange way to raise a baby, but it makes sense for a flying mammal that needs to hunt at night. Leaving the pup safely in the roost allows the mother to spend her energy catching the insects she needs to produce milk.
So, what can these three animals teach us about parenting? There isn't one right way to raise a family in nature. The striped skunk keeps her kits close and teaches them by example. The barred owl parents work together to provide food and protection. The big brown bat leaves her pup safely behind while she goes out to find food.
Each strategy is different, but they all have the same goal: helping the next generation survive. The next time you see wildlife in your neighborhood, take a moment to think about what might be happening beyond what you can see. A skunk family following mom through the grass, an owl carrying prey back to a nest, or a bat returning to a maternity colony are all examples of the many different approaches to raising a family found in the wild.
by Amy Keigher, Natural Resources Agent, 2026