The more children we have to watch over and care for, the harder our daily tasks become. Adding another child to the mix means more diapers, more feeding times, more tears to wipe away, and less time on our hands. Caring for another child is costly both in time and money; however, it also means more hugs, more kisses, more love to give and receive, and more memories to make. Most mothers would say the rewards greatly outweigh the bad.
While adding another life to your household can be hectic at first as you lose sleep, direct much of your free time towards another being, and learn to adapt to the needs to your new baby, the milestones you witness and challenges you overcome as a parent make you realize just how capable you truly are in raising a family and how much you enjoy it in the process. In turn, it gives us the confidence we need to continue overpowering the challenges of being a parent.
We certainly feel the latter while watching this viral footage. In a video featuring a mother common merganser or goosander, a species of duck, we are shocked as we witness a whopping 76 ducklings trailing behind her without rebelling! Although the momma duck is surely outnumbered dozens of times, she still remains the toughest out of the bunch as the babies all comply with her directions.
Finally, after their long swim, all of the little ones and their leader make it to dry land, all huddling close to one another while ruffling their wet feathers. The tiny peeps of the baby ducks instantly put a smile on my face!
While one might be surprised to see that one duck could hatch so many baby ducks, this goosander duck was certainly not the birth mom of all the little ones. Rather, the duck acted as a crèche mother as she cared for the broods of other ducks’ offsprings. In reality, ducks only have an average of 7-12 little ones of their own at a time, and once they have experience with their own, that’s usually when they “babysit” other ducklings.
Regardless of knowing the latter facts, seeing an adult duck lead dozens of ducklings is still a beautiful and empowering sight to see! Witnessing the momma duck interact with her crèche of over 70 ducklings reminds me of a teacher and class of students. So sweet!
The footage of the mother duck leading her 76 ducklings is quite astonishing. Watch it in the video below!
