Minnesota Photographer Captures the Unusual Sight of a Mama Duck With a Giant Brood of 76 Ducklings

Minnesota wildlife photographer Brent Cizek was returning to shore after spending the day scouting background locations on Lake Bemidji when he spotted a mama Common Merganser (species of large duck) swimming along with a giant brood more than 50 ducklings following dutifully behind. Luckily, Cizek had his camera ready to go and was able to capture stunning photos of this beautiful and unusual sight. Field editor Kenn Kaufman of Audubon offered up some viable theories as to why this mama duck had so many little babies.

The merganser in this picture probably picked up several dozen ducklings that got separated from their mothers. Adult ducks can't tell which birds are theirs, and lost young birds that have already imprinted on their own mothers will instinctively start following another Common Merganser because she looks like mom.

Since the date of the original photo, the mama merganser picked up another 20+ ducklings as her own, bringing the total to 76.

A post shared by Brent Cizek (@brentcizekphoto) on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:42pm PDT

A post shared by Brent Cizek (@brentcizekphoto) on Jul 22, 2018 at 7:10am PDT

• A Mother Duck Confidently Leads Her Tiny Ducklings Through a High School Hallway on the Way to Water
• Ducklings Being Rescued From a Swimming Pool
• Mother Duck and Her Eleven Tiny Ducklings Sensibly Use the Crosswalk to Safely Cross the Street

The post Minnesota Photographer Captures the Unusual Sight of a Mama Duck With a Giant Brood of 76 Ducklings appeared first on Laughing Squid.