‘Mom of the Year.’ Mother duck is raising 76 chicks — and they follow her everywhere
About one month ago, a wildlife photographer captured a mother duck who had her “hands full” with at least 50 ducklings following behind in Lake Bemidji.
And that was just the start of this growing family of Merganser ducks.
In the photo taken by Brent Cizek, you can see the now-famous duck — known as Mama Merganser — leading her brood of peeping heads through the choppy waves of a Minnesota lake.
“I saw Mama Merganser in front and all of the chicks followed in tow,” Cizek told People Magazine. “It was a pretty remarkable experience, so I tried my hardest to get a photo.”
But it wasn’t easy, People reported.
“The water was pretty rough in my small boat, making it next to impossible to keep the entire family in the frame, so I fired off as many shots as I could, praying that one shot would be in focus,” he told the magazine. “I think the photo draws people in … (they) instantly question ‘How in the heck is that possible?’”
He was right — people were impressed, and curious.
“Wow how could it have so many baby ducklings?” one person asked on Instagram.
“I can’t get over how many babies are in that picture!!” another person said on Twitter.
“Wooooah! So many chicks!” said another.
Cizek said it looked the like Common Merganser adopted “a few” ducklings.
“It kind of compels you just to look and wonder: How?” Cizek told the New York Times. “How did this happen? How is this mom taking care of all of these ducklings? She just looks really proud and stoic in the photo.”
But the proud mom wasn’t done adopting yet.
On July 16, about three weeks after his first sighting of the single mother with her many children, Cizek said he tracked down the “now famous” mom and her adopted brood of 76 babies.
In his photo gallery, Cizek said he found the growing Merganser family on the shore of Lake Bemidji.
“I love the story that these photos tell,” he posted to Twitter. The story of a mom who has at least 76 ducklings who follow her everywhere, that is.
On Twitter, Cizek said he continued to track down Mama Merganser for some more photos.
“I was able to head out onto the water before sunrise this morning and track down Mama Merganser and her large 70+ brood,” he tweeted.
In the photos, the large family can be seen heading into the water and then swimming while the rising sun provides an orange glow in the sky.
“They are growing so fast,” he tweeted on Monday. “They continue to venture further out on their own, but as soon as Mama Merganser starts heading somewhere, they all quickly follow suite. Count is still at 70+.”
Cizek told People he plans to track her daily to see how many of the ducklings survive.
“So far she is doing a great job looking after them,” he told People. “I never knew a single bird could care for so many young ones.”
So how did this mama duck begin raising 76 chicks?
They likely were not all hers to begin with, The National Audubon Society reported. Ducks can usually only lay about a dozen eggs, the society reported, so this mom likely “picked up several dozen ducklings that got separated from their mothers.”
The society said adult ducks cannot tell which chicks are theirs, and young lost ducks will instinctively follow another Merganser “because she looks like mom.”
“Everybody is really just amazed,” Cizek told the New York Times. “Everybody keeps saying, ‘Mom of the Year.’”
This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 11:25 AM with the headline "‘Mom of the Year.’ Mother duck is raising 76 chicks — and they follow her everywhere."