Yeah, we all heard about big families with moms proving that superpowers are not present only in the sci-fi movies. In case you’re not really convinced about this fact, make sure you check out the amazing moment a photographer captured on his camera.
This hen is leading not ten, not twenty, not even fifty, but 76 ducklings! There is absolutely no way that a hen could make so many eggs. It also depends mostly on the breed. According to researches, there are species of ducks that can make up to 300 eggs per year.
Pretty impressive, huh? Well, another fact would be the egg-laying skill, and a season takes between 35 to 45 weeks in a year. This duck on the other hand is a common merganser, and females can lay about a dozen babies.
She is surely babysitting, because laying on 76 eggs at once is impossible for a single hen. Brent Cizek witnessed the moment when a merganser momma is in charge of about 7 dozens of babies, and luckily he had a camera with him. The amateur wildlife photographer was on a trip at Lake Bemidji, Minnesota, and he described the moment as “simply extraordinary”. Most probably, the super-hen was caring for other ducks babies.
Brent said in an interview with Jillian Mock, a science journalist from Audubon Society, that he wasn’t really prepared on that day for such a special encounter. He left his special equipment at home, having only a camera and a lens with him.
He was using a small boat, and the weather was getting worse, making the photographer’s job a bit difficult due to the waves. As he was capturing the moment, the ducklings were diving and raising from the water, one by one. At some point, some of the fuzzy babies were practicing their swimming skills, while the hen was waiting on the shore, with another half of ducklings, probably exhausted by the huge amount of attention she has to pay.
In a small article written by Bob Duchesne, he expressed his knowledge about the duck daycare system, known as crèche. This system improves ducklings survival chances because the babies are much more safer in big crowds.
The crèche practice is common for these species, and the hen can be called a “great grand-mother” among her colony.
A wildlife specialist named David Rave thinks that the hen in charge was elected by her colony, due to her vast experience. It’s pretty amazing that she was in the care of two groups at some point, one on the shore while the other dozens in the lake. Nature always surprises us with its wonders, and clearly this was one of those moments. Such organization and attention skills are not easy to find, but this certain duck won her super-mother title.
Make sure you watch the video and let us know about your thoughts regarding this bunch of sweetness: