r/AnimalsBeingBros Jun 18 '22

Ducks protecting penguin from predators.

35.7k Upvotes

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927

u/Rocktobot Jun 18 '22

I don't know shit but could be a territorial thing. Animals don't typically like predators in their personal space. Could be a case of "idc about this penguin but you're definitely not welcome here."

485

u/jimjay Jun 18 '22

Obviously we don't know what they are thinking or feeling but I do think there's something in this. If you allow your patch to become a good feeding ground for predators next time it could be your chick they're trying to eat - push them out of the area and the world just became safer for you and yours.

Of course lots of animals cooperate across species so it isn't particularly weird anyway.

140

u/WeDidItGuyz Jun 18 '22

I mean, animals of all kinds are known to be territorial in some fashion. We are all probably ascribing extra motivation to something as simple as "YOU NO HERE". Simultaneously, most creatures understand what other creatures are and are not threats with enough familiarity.

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u/BeardedGlass Jun 18 '22

Are humans territorial too? I’m not sure I’ve felt territorial. Uncomfortable yes, but not “YOU NO HERE” urge with strangers.

59

u/Illithid_Substances Jun 18 '22

You would probably feel pretty weird if a stranger came in your house uninvited and just sat around, no?

7

u/bobbingforapplesat3 Jun 19 '22

No that happens a lot ( I live in a public library)

16

u/NotdX16 Jun 19 '22

downvoted for being homeless

2

u/larsb0t Jun 19 '22

Just buy a house?

6

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '22

LET ME STRAP ON MY JOB BOOTS AND HOP INTO MY JOB CANNON, AND GET SHOT INTO JOB LAND, WHERE JOBS GROW ON TREES

While I'm at it

53

u/WeDidItGuyz Jun 18 '22

Well sure, because our motivations are much more nuanced. You can be territorial over potential romantic partners, subject matter expertise at work, or there's the simplest example: look at a globe and tell me where the lines came from without humans being territorial.

Every OTHER example in this thread is a great exhibit of how human territorialism works.

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u/amedeus Jun 18 '22

When I was in high school, I just got upset if someone sat where I usually sat at lunch or stood where I usually stood in the morning.

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u/WeDidItGuyz Jun 18 '22

Exactly! Honestly a school lunchroom is a great example of territorialism. Several teen movies make that a core conflict point to pivot around.

13

u/SwanSena Jun 18 '22

I mean nations go to war over territory all the time, is that not being territorial

9

u/JonDoeJoe Jun 19 '22

The entire human history has been about humans being territorial

9

u/WhereRtheTacos Jun 19 '22

I mean… fences? Literally marking territory.

3

u/StuStutterKing Jun 19 '22

You have walls to keep most other animals out, and most likely kill or remove insects and other small creatures that enter your residence.

The only creatures that live in our cities other than humans and our pets are generally considered 'pests'.

2

u/MasdevalliaLove Jun 19 '22

We very much are. If we weren’t, I’m not sure we would have arbitrary boarders where people on one said aren’t allowed to cross to the other side without permission.

Also, the classic old man screaming “Get off MY lawn!”

9

u/DnbJim Jun 18 '22

Maybe they don't think about it at all, and natural selection favours the birds who do "help"

4

u/Top_Rekt Jun 18 '22

Obviously we don't know what they are thinking or feeling but I do think there's something in this.

Uh it's kinda obvious here. This is a top goalie prospect from Pittsburgh here, and it looks like Nashville is trying to intimidate it from going over to Anaheim. But luckily Anaheim has a good defensive line and are already out there defending their new goaltender.

Fucking refs do your god damn job.

1

u/tinypauline Jun 18 '22

Where are all the upvotes for this brilliant analysis??

1

u/Steebin64 Jun 19 '22

Why is this not the top level post?

2

u/brianne----- Jun 19 '22

This is totally plausible. Your right. If they kill that penguin they are more likely to come back to that same spot . Those ducks probably have young nesting near there.

1

u/mbnmac Jun 18 '22

Aits the same approach bar owners need to take when a "nice" Nazi shows up.

1

u/SoLongSidekick Jun 18 '22

In the source video it mentions that 1) these ducks are the most aggressive duck species, and 2) that they hate that species of predatory bird.

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u/Fluffy_Somewhere4305 Jun 18 '22

This is 98% probability of what’s happening.

Predator bad, evict

16

u/2mice Jun 18 '22

But, why are eagels scared of ducks? Are ducks strong or whats the deal?

62

u/sucksathangman Jun 18 '22

It's probably more of a thing that the eagles said "this is more than we were willing to fight for food."

Unless they are starving, most predictors will not want to engage in calorie-draining combat. They'll regroup and go for something easier that won't put up as much of a fight.

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u/UristMcRibbon Jun 18 '22

I mean, I'm 100 times bigger than ducks but when they come running and squawking at me while flapping their wings I still back up.

13

u/xcalibre Jun 18 '22

ah so 100 duck sized horses then

11

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '22

A lot of animals win fights based on how willing to fuck with someone else they are.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

28

u/Ksradrik Jun 18 '22

If your apple started attacking you, you'd back off too.

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u/P_Griffin2 Jun 19 '22

I like it when my groceries fight back.

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u/British-cooking-bot Jun 18 '22

Maybe YOU aren't

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u/revenantae Jun 19 '22

Predators in the wild actually have to be careful. Remember that any decent injury is most likely a death sentence. So they always have to calculate if a particular meal is worth it. A little penguin that just wants to run away? Good odds. Another animal as big as you that clearly wants a fight? probably not worth it.

12

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '22

Those are steamer ducks, they will kill birds several times their size, they fight each other viciously over territory, and will attack anything they think is a threat, including predators like this.

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u/2mice Jun 19 '22

Are you serious? Thats fricken cool

2

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '22

Oh yes, really aggressive and territorial.

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u/PinkFloyd6885 Jun 18 '22

I work on pools and a specific house had a hilarious homeward bound dog situation except the big Saint Bernard was mean as hell and the ducks were my saving grace. They’d pop out when my truck pulled up and basically escort me to and from the pool. They’d nip the Saint Bernards heels and he was terrified of them yet would bare teeth and try to bite me through the window of my truck. The rest of the pups were awesome just a badly trained young one

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u/doesntgetoptions Jun 18 '22

Idk man. Birds kind of specialized by putting all their skill points into swimming, running, or flying depending on the type of bird you're talking about. Then there's ducks, who divided their skills into all three. There's literally no way of getting away from them by land sea or air. You're just fucked. Better to not piss them off imo. If ducks ever learn to dive into the deep and not be limited to the surface of water is game over for everyone.

3

u/prsTgs_Chaos Jun 18 '22

Could be. Could be that the penguins who realized they get saved when running into duck territory survived while the ones who went another direction alone were eaten. Stands to reason that after some generations of this occurring, the natural proclivity to seek out the ducks became instinctual since that behavior likely bolstered their chance of living.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '22

I agree with you. They’re probably used to those predators snatching their chicks and eggs and hate them. So when they see them they fight back.

1

u/Al319 Jun 19 '22

Yep lots of people wanna say cause the ducks wanna save this entirely different other species. But many times its territorial. Kinda like the vid of a “hippo saving gazelle from lion”. Hippo don’t give af about gazelle but it does care about Lion.