According to the World Wildlife, about five percent of all mammal species and 90 percent of bird species are monogamous, meaning that they choose a partner and stick with them through thick and thin. So if you’re feeling like nobody stays together anymore, keep on reading. From seahorses and swans to gray foxes and gibbons, here are some of the animals that mate for life. And for the most in-demand pets, check out The 50 Most Popular Dog Breeds in America.
Gibbons
Gibbons are a family of primates split up into 19 species. However, all 19 of these species have something in common: They mate for life. These small apes “pair up for life and form a family that stays together until the offspring grow up and leave home.” It’s almost like fully grown humans leaving home once they become self-sufficient adults!
Oldfield Mice
Oldfield mice are one of the few rodents known to mate for life, as a paper written by Auburn University zoology professor Michael C. Wooten notes. Though they don’t live long—the average life expectancy of an Oldfield mouse in the wild is less than nine months—bonded pairs will spent their short lives breeding and taking care of offspring
Geese
Geese take their romantic partnerships very seriously. Take the Canada goose, for instance: This waterbird is so devoted to its mate that it will “put itself in danger” just to protect them. When one member of a mated pair is injured, the other will even guard them until they either recover or pass away.
Coyotes
Coyotes are fiercely loyal creatures—to their partners, at least. When researchers from Ohio State University followed 236 coyotes in the Chicago area over a six-year period, they found zero evidence of polygamy or of a mate ever leaving its partner while they were still alive. The results of the study, published in a 2012 issue of the Journal of Mammalogy, concluded that “urban coyotes display no variability in their monogamous mating system.”
Swans
Swans are quite romantic creatures, as their reputation would suggest. These animals generally mate for life, and “if a mate is lost, then the surviving mate will go through a grieving process like humans do.” After it is done grieving, the swan will either remain where it is alone, find a new stretch of water to live on (and possibly find a new mate), or re-join a flock.
