This Loon Couple Lost Their Baby, So They Adopted A Duckling
August 13, 2019
Researchers with The Loon Project were shocked when they noticed a mother loon carrying a duckling on her back at Long Lake in Wisconsin.
Credit: LoonProject.org
According to The Dodo, the loon couple had a baby that unfortunately did not make it. So when they saw a tiny duckling all alone without his family, they took him in. The duckling didn't object and happily settled in with his new family.
And because baby loons and ducklings are raised very differently, researchers were unsure how the duckling was getting food.
Credit: LoonProject.org
"We could see that the duckling was healthy and strong — that it continued to grow and thrive," The Loon Project wrote in a blog. "How, we wondered, was a dabbling duck that evolved to pluck and consume small, squishy invertebrates from the shallows surviving with two parents determined to feed it long, rigid, scaly items captured from the deep?"
Surprisingly, the duckling accepted the scaly items.
Credit: LoonProject.org
But it's hard to say what will happen to the duckling as he gets older.
"If the duckling behaves as genes dictate, it will soon join others of its species in huge foraging groups that congregate on lakes at this time of year. But it is thoroughly imprinted on its loon parents, not on mallards. If it has lived too long as a loon chick, it might attempt to associate with that species. Even in this worst case scenario, all is not lost, I think. Full grown mallards, even those that evince inappropriate affection for loons, know that they must bolt when a loon comes stalking them."
Click Here For The Most Popular On Sunny Skyz
Drive-Thru Safari Surprise: Woman Gets Up Close And Personal With Scottish Highland Cow
Son's Hilarious Obituary For His Father Goes Viral: A Final Tribute Full Of Laughs
Cookie Monster Caught Speeding: Traffic Camera Picture Has People In Stitches
What Foreigners Find Weird About America That Americans Don't Even Notice
Essential Life Skills Every College Student Should Master
How This Guy Gets Seniors Moving With Simple, Everyday Objects!
Drive-Thru Safari Surprise: Woman Gets Up Close And Personal With Scottish Highland Cow
Rat Going For Ride Won't Leave Car, Surprises Driver With Laugh Out Loud Moment
Mom Shares Her Son's Adorable First Date Moment
Man Smashes Window To Save Terrified Dog Trapped In Flood Waters
Young Dancer Stuns With Incredible 'Thriller' Dance Routine