Summary
A deep-sea starfish hunches over her eggs and guards them for months, going without food to keep them safe. Deep Look reveals the surprising parental care of an animal you might never expect to be a devoted parent.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
This starfish shields her eggs with her body and protects them until they hatch, even skipping meals to do it. Parent care gives the young a better chance -- a survival strategy across the animal world.
- How does this starfish protect her eggs?
- What does she give up to keep her babies safe?
- Why does caring for young help more of them survive?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: parent, offspring, protect, survive.
Try it: Name an animal parent that guards its young. Write one thing it does that the starfish also does for her eggs.