One common merganser cares for more than 70 ducklings, drawing uncommon interest from across the country.!
David Rave, a wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told The New York Times that the common merganser is one of a number of birds that employ a sort of day care system known as a crèche. Essentially, hens leave their ducklings in the care of an older female duck that has experience raising babies.
The mother duck will probably care for this crèche for a couple more weeks, the Audubon Society said. In the meantime, Cizek continues posting photos of this extended feathered family.
And he teased on Twitter that there might be a sighting of the mama duck on “The Tonight Show” on Friday night.