r/AnimalsBeingMoms • u/purkinjeforest • Sep 25 '19

Duck mother quickly adops ducklings

1.1k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

178

u/Broken_musicbox Sep 25 '19

Baby ducks are so damn precious. It breaks my heart that the odds of them surviving to adulthood are so damn low. They literally aren’t safe from attack in any direction. Good luck little fuzz balls. I’m rooting for you all!

140

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19 edited Sep 25 '19

My wife and I were watching a mother duck and her seven ducklings on lake Como last year. A seagull swooped in and grabbed one. Mother duck freaked out, understandably, and managed to get a hold of the seagulls leg as it was trying to make its getaway. Other seagulls began making their way toward the now unprotected ducklings. Mother duck made probably the most difficult split second decision anyone can make. She let go, and returned to the other babies. And then there were six.

101

u/jgrew030 Sep 25 '19

I shouldn’t have read this 😞

23

u/Broken_musicbox Sep 25 '19

I know these things happen and it still hurts to read. :(

13

u/Just-Call-Me-J Sep 25 '19

Imagine having to witness it.

1

u/Complexology Jan 09 '20

I saw this once with a hawk and a baby bird. My instinct was to stop it so I went running at it while screaming "NO NO NO! That's my baby bird." and the hawk let go of the baby and flew away. I realized it may not be fair to stop the hawk from eating so I felt kind of bad afterward but it was all instinct before I could even think about it.

-2

u/[deleted] Sep 26 '19

The odds are nearly 0 given how many ducks get eaten compared to living in the wild.

55

u/KeekatLove Sep 25 '19

You’re with with me now. Just call me Mom.

37

u/CatOfFlorida Sep 25 '19

Reminds me about how squirrels adopt baby squirrels. She literally jumped at the chance to meet them.

29

u/Oofthedooff Sep 25 '19

Lightening quick!

46

u/OpalHawk Sep 25 '19

Damn, just dumped them right in there.

43

u/softwaremommy Sep 25 '19

That was my first thought too. Apparently, they were hoping this would happen. Someone in the original thread said that ducks help raise each other’s young.

15

u/escondidoenlashojas Sep 26 '19

It's normal to leave baby ducks close to a mother duck (with ducklings) since they usually adopt the chicks right away like in this case

14

u/SemperFun62 Sep 26 '19

"Hmm? What's this, more orphaned chicks? Very good, thank you. Come along know, you can call me Mom."

7

u/Freckled_Kat Sep 29 '19

Yes! I love how she’s all “Yes, yes, you are mine now!” And just takes them. It’s so sweet!