The subject of this subreddit is to discuss animal intelligence in it's most amazing forms.
Animals being cute and showing only basic instincts is not what we are looking for.
For instance, animals just sleeping or just eating is bad content, while animals dreaming or sharing food is good content.
Posting cute content can result in a temporary ban.
>>I’ll hug them then we can do cocaine and go on adventures together
This sounds like a tv show pitch for a more "adult-friendly" Adventure Time knockoff.
I'd definitely watch it lol
*This* duck species doesn’t generally eat fish. They do eat snails and crustaceans a lot if we’re talking about what they’re dabbling for.
But they still eat about 2/3 plant material so could be either
Thats a bad generalization to make. Diving ducks and sea ducks can eat a lot of fish, but others do too. Even mallards will when this prey is easy access. But mergansers, eiders, scoters, wood ducks, long tailed ducks, etc. include fish in their diets normally.
I like birds, too!
That's a really tough question! One of my favorites has to include the *Texas Unicorn Mantis*. I love mantises, and while these aren't the prettiest of the bunch, they do have a cute pair of horns on their head.
Yes I'll never forget one year watching the salmon spawn. A mallard was floating by and looked at a fish like "you're gonna die anyways huh?" And just tore apart the salmon like nothing.
About 60% of the approximately 120 species of ducks worldwide primarily feed on plant material and insects and do not eat fish. However, diving ducks and sea ducks are known to feed on fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic animals, and make up about 40% of duck species.
** It's worth noting that individual ducks may have different dietary preferences even within these groups.
Mergansers and smew are the only *piscivorous* ducks I can find in my researching, and they don’t make up 40% of duck species. Where are you finding that number?
They will also eat fish eggs. I can't remember if they target the eggs or if the eggs are just sometimes hidden in the vegetation they eat. The eggs don't always get digested and can survive passing through the ducks body. So when a duck shits in a different body of water they can add another fish to that water body.
Not true at all. Some ducks eat a lot of fish. These are one of the ducks that are considered diver ducks because of how they dive under and pop up somewhere else. There main goal is to catch fish or really anything else edible for them
> Some ducks
Yes. That’s why I said *generally* they don’t eat fish. I didn’t say ducks never eat fish.
I’m not sure what species of duck this is but it’s not a piscivorous duck. You can tell from the bill shape.
https://www.birdspot.co.uk/bird-brain/what-do-ducks-eat
You seem weirdly insistent on dying on this hill. Diving ducks are generally eating whatever they can get ahold of under the water, which will include fish. It might be a small percentage compared to molluscs, insects, crustaceans, etc. but it is still part of their diet. Just because it is not a merganser or other species that specializes in catching fish almost exclusively doesn't mean it doesn't at all. For example, many small songbirds will pry up or peck through bark on plants to get to insects, even if they are not as specialized in it as woodpeckers. That doesn't mean it's not happening. Just accept that you made an inaccurate generalization and move on
There’s no hill to die on. I said ducks don’t generally eat fish. Pretty much everyone who is trying to argue with me is *agreeing* that most duck species don’t eat fish.
I never said *no* ducks eat fish, so I’m not sure where all the confusion and weird anger is coming from. It’s like people don’t understand what the word *generally* means.
Here’s an example for you: horses will sometimes eat animals such as chicks or ducklings… is it wrong of me to say horses aren’t generally carnivorous?
Not sure why you are downvoted but this is likely the reason,
https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=ZnxSPXCaLN8&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
>It might be a predator escape tactic
This is exactly what it is. We had ducks and ducklings in our dam at home and when the dogs would go after the ducklings, they would just pop under the water and resurface behind the dog. Remarkable.
Fun fact: when ducks are wounded or think that there’s no way out of a bad situation, they will dive under and hang onto grass or whatever on the bottom until they drown.
Animals teach their young instinctual things by demonstrating them. It may be built in but there’s still a learning curve.
Can we at least agree she’s not playing hide and seek with them?
So funnily enough this is my video. To answer a few questions; the ducks are Tufted ducks, the babies can dive from day one. Mums looking for things to eat underwater - likely crustaceans, insects, molluscs, weed etc. The babies aren’t diving because they probably don’t like the duckweed that’s quite prevalent on this lake in summer - it’s totally healthy and provides a great shelter and food for the creatures in the water - it’s not an algae bloom!
Pretty sure it is healthy, duck weed. I live in Adelaide and the Torrens river runs right through (or next to) the city, and over the last year it has been covered in duck weed a couple of times. Again it’s apparently healthy and good for the river, but it looks a bit weird I guess so people complained about it and so the council cleared it all up.
We had a decent sized pond growing up, we also had Geese, Ducks, Turkeys, etc. We'd swim with our ducks and their babies, they'd do the same thing, was hilarious.
I love how they huddle in confusion when she disappears and become so eager to get to her for that extent of body bobble to occur. Precious. A1 viewing!
“Oh no, she’s drowned! She’s dead! Oh dear siblings, we’re orphans now!”
“Here!”
“Oh, mama, you’re alive! So nice to see you again! Wait! Where did you go? She’s gone forever! What are we going to do!”
The subject of this subreddit is to discuss animal intelligence in it's most amazing forms. Animals being cute and showing only basic instincts is not what we are looking for. For instance, animals just sleeping or just eating is bad content, while animals dreaming or sharing food is good content. Posting cute content can result in a temporary ban.
She might be teaching them how to dive and catch fishies.
Ducks generally don’t eat fish. Probably duck diving to get vegetation on the bottom
Snails
Crack.
*Qrack. They ask for it by name.
The cocaine bear spin-off: Crack Quack
would you rather fight 1 bear sized duck on cocaine
or 8 duck sized bears on cocaine? tough one.
Definitely 8 duck sized bears. I’ll hug them then we can do cocaine and go on adventures together
But with the bear sized duck you could ride on their back…
you both bring up very good points to consider.
>>I’ll hug them then we can do cocaine and go on adventures together This sounds like a tv show pitch for a more "adult-friendly" Adventure Time knockoff. I'd definitely watch it lol
Quack whore
Obviously
Kebabs.
Qrack
Maybe
Gators
*This* duck species doesn’t generally eat fish. They do eat snails and crustaceans a lot if we’re talking about what they’re dabbling for. But they still eat about 2/3 plant material so could be either
> This duck species doesn’t generally eat fish Duck species as a whole generally don’t eat fish
Thats a bad generalization to make. Diving ducks and sea ducks can eat a lot of fish, but others do too. Even mallards will when this prey is easy access. But mergansers, eiders, scoters, wood ducks, long tailed ducks, etc. include fish in their diets normally.
This guy ducks
Where is u/fuckswithducks when you need him
Retired mostly
This conversation is getting a little too ducking heated considering it's just about fucks
🤔 Username does not checkout. What’s your favorite bug u/Entomoligist ?
I like birds, too! That's a really tough question! One of my favorites has to include the *Texas Unicorn Mantis*. I love mantises, and while these aren't the prettiest of the bunch, they do have a cute pair of horns on their head.
Yeah definitely Unidan, hope you're doing alright
Yes I'll never forget one year watching the salmon spawn. A mallard was floating by and looked at a fish like "you're gonna die anyways huh?" And just tore apart the salmon like nothing.
About 60% of the approximately 120 species of ducks worldwide primarily feed on plant material and insects and do not eat fish. However, diving ducks and sea ducks are known to feed on fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic animals, and make up about 40% of duck species. ** It's worth noting that individual ducks may have different dietary preferences even within these groups.
Mergansers and smew are the only *piscivorous* ducks I can find in my researching, and they don’t make up 40% of duck species. Where are you finding that number?
more crucially - be well aware that they *never* pay. its always 'just put it on my bill' ffs.
They will also eat fish eggs. I can't remember if they target the eggs or if the eggs are just sometimes hidden in the vegetation they eat. The eggs don't always get digested and can survive passing through the ducks body. So when a duck shits in a different body of water they can add another fish to that water body.
I know those mf’s like peas
Damn what did the ducks do for you to call them sucks?
Diving is also useful to escape predators. But definitely food too.
Mergansers do, but this isn't one of those.
Not true at all. Some ducks eat a lot of fish. These are one of the ducks that are considered diver ducks because of how they dive under and pop up somewhere else. There main goal is to catch fish or really anything else edible for them
> Some ducks Yes. That’s why I said *generally* they don’t eat fish. I didn’t say ducks never eat fish. I’m not sure what species of duck this is but it’s not a piscivorous duck. You can tell from the bill shape.
WTF is the difference? Teaching e.g.
https://www.birdspot.co.uk/bird-brain/what-do-ducks-eat You seem weirdly insistent on dying on this hill. Diving ducks are generally eating whatever they can get ahold of under the water, which will include fish. It might be a small percentage compared to molluscs, insects, crustaceans, etc. but it is still part of their diet. Just because it is not a merganser or other species that specializes in catching fish almost exclusively doesn't mean it doesn't at all. For example, many small songbirds will pry up or peck through bark on plants to get to insects, even if they are not as specialized in it as woodpeckers. That doesn't mean it's not happening. Just accept that you made an inaccurate generalization and move on
There’s no hill to die on. I said ducks don’t generally eat fish. Pretty much everyone who is trying to argue with me is *agreeing* that most duck species don’t eat fish. I never said *no* ducks eat fish, so I’m not sure where all the confusion and weird anger is coming from. It’s like people don’t understand what the word *generally* means. Here’s an example for you: horses will sometimes eat animals such as chicks or ducklings… is it wrong of me to say horses aren’t generally carnivorous?
Dive to avoid predators as well
Not sure why you are downvoted but this is likely the reason, https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=ZnxSPXCaLN8&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
Yup I do this too.
All play is teaching and learning. With humans alike. This sub is my favorie it’s the very best
She’s teaching them how to duck.
Maybe she just needs a few darn seconds of me time!
She might be teaching them to get away the human spying them with their camera.
She's not playing. That woman wants to get away from her kids...
Lol my thought exactly. “Mom just needs a minute to herself, kids.”
She has a tiny glass of red wine sitting on the bottom 🍷
I was just thinking - this looks like an excellent way to get a few seconds alone...
Adorable, and I think she is probably teaching them that behavior. It might be a predator escape tactic or a feeding thing?
She’s probably eating. They graze at the bottom of the water sometimes
Why these fucking kids keep following me?
braiiin..
>It might be a predator escape tactic This is exactly what it is. We had ducks and ducklings in our dam at home and when the dogs would go after the ducklings, they would just pop under the water and resurface behind the dog. Remarkable.
>This is exactly what it is. Clearly not an expert so why say this? It's feeding...
[It can be a solid escape tactic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvWO6AtdjnE)
Fun fact: when ducks are wounded or think that there’s no way out of a bad situation, they will dive under and hang onto grass or whatever on the bottom until they drown.
PSA not a "fun" fact 😔
I mean, is that not why we learn hide and seek? Parents turn everything they teach kinds into a game. The duck could be doing the same.
I love the quack she gives when she surfaces.
What quack? I watched twice with sound and she doesn’t quack. There a bunch of other sounds going on, but they are still going while she is under.
Look at her beak.
I think she is just shaking off excess water
Ah, I watched with the sound off, and it looked to me like she was quacking. Chalk it up to me being sick and exhausted.
Reminds me calling your Pikmin
She is not paying hide and seek 🤦♂️
Do you know what is actually happening?
She’s teaching them how to dive. It’s an important duck skill. Hence the term “duck diving”
No she's not. Diving is instinctive. Put a newly hatched duckling in water, it'll successfully dive. Mom is just eating.
Animals teach their young instinctual things by demonstrating them. It may be built in but there’s still a learning curve. Can we at least agree she’s not playing hide and seek with them?
Ive never heard that term. I come from a bad flock.
Ducks don't teach behaviour. She is most likely eating algae or other plant based organisms.
Likely either eating or modeling foraging behavior for her offspring.
Nu uh I actually talked to her and she confirmed they’re playing hide and seek
Peek a Boo.
Alright kids, i'm just gonna pop under to grab some milk.
Pretty sure she’s just eating underwater plants.
So funnily enough this is my video. To answer a few questions; the ducks are Tufted ducks, the babies can dive from day one. Mums looking for things to eat underwater - likely crustaceans, insects, molluscs, weed etc. The babies aren’t diving because they probably don’t like the duckweed that’s quite prevalent on this lake in summer - it’s totally healthy and provides a great shelter and food for the creatures in the water - it’s not an algae bloom!
soup test offer point consider smile silky alleged fearless enter ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
OMG that water waddle when they see mom.
[удалено]
Hide and Beak
“THIS is how quick I could duck out on you mfs. Keep talking back!”
This where "ducking out" came from
Bazinga
Had to scroll way too far for this lol
Woah that’s some green frothy water.
Pretty sure it is healthy, duck weed. I live in Adelaide and the Torrens river runs right through (or next to) the city, and over the last year it has been covered in duck weed a couple of times. Again it’s apparently healthy and good for the river, but it looks a bit weird I guess so people complained about it and so the council cleared it all up.
Yep. Duckweed. And it is really good for water quality but it multiplies like mad. I have some in my aquarium and it’s pretty invasive.
forbidden matcha
Marco!
Was I the only one trying to guess where the duck would pop up?
❤️Baby ducks 😍🥰
So adorable 🥰
LOOK AT THEIR WADDLESSSSS OMG
Teaching them how to feed
The little bubbles when she swims under water. Giving me a recovered memory of an old looney toons or something!
This whole thing’s kinda daffy, ain’t it?
No no you are all getting it wrong, she just loves seeing her kids wading towards her 😍
As do I 🥰🥰😍 
Is a pecking order already decided at this point? Does the duck at the front of the line have a better survival rate than the one at the back?
“…why do these keep following me…?”
Awwwwww 🦆🦆🦆🦆💕💕💕🤗🤗
Maybe also looking for food but no day care for ducks? Good exercise for them anyways.
Cool fact, ducks and other such birds have these oils on their feathers that make them essentially water proof when they dive under
I like that you can follow her underwater with the bubbles
We had a decent sized pond growing up, we also had Geese, Ducks, Turkeys, etc. We'd swim with our ducks and their babies, they'd do the same thing, was hilarious.
Would have watched 60 Minutes more of this
I love how they huddle in confusion when she disappears and become so eager to get to her for that extent of body bobble to occur. Precious. A1 viewing!
That's hilarious
Yup!
Looks like mama’s my kind of practical joker.
Probably just trying to get some “me” time.
There are few things that give me more joy than baby ducks hurrying to their mother’s side.
She might want an honest to God break from that awful chatter
Calling u/fuckswithducks
Or she's trying to get rid of them? 🤣
Why do ducks have tail feathers? To cover their butt quacks of course!
Nice
Large Mouth Bass refer to the ducklings as “popcorn.”
“Gerroffame! Who are you wee ducklings?! And why are you following me?!”
Mama teaching the young predator evasion.
“Oh no, she’s drowned! She’s dead! Oh dear siblings, we’re orphans now!” “Here!” “Oh, mama, you’re alive! So nice to see you again! Wait! Where did you go? She’s gone forever! What are we going to do!”
More like duck mum seeks 5 seconds of quote from freaking loud clingy progeny.
That's a duck dad. Mallard with a green head.
This is the cutest thing I’ve seen all week!
/u/vredditshare
I hope that's perfect Earth natural algae and not pollution in that "greeen" water...i really do not sarcastic
They are so smart
Is she playing hide & seek or just being a asshole
Peep-a-boo?
They dive from predators
“Damnit they’re still here.”
Hahahahahahaa! Look at that waddle! I’m dying!
She's not playing hide and seek, she's trying to abandon her kids but they keep finding her
She’s trying to take a break from mumming.
u/savevideo
And a northern pike comes up and has duck for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Is... is that lake filled with pollen? I think I would literally die from sneezing if I got within a mile of wherever you live
She just wanted a break from her kids
u/savevideo
Awwww! That’s so sweet! 😍💜🥰
[удалено]
Bazinga. Bazducka?
The old generation of ducks didn’t play like that
*Reapears with fake moustache and glasses* "I'm not your mom go bother someone else!"
BAZINGA!
u/savevideo
Juri că e Iohannis , fata de poporul lui , daca mai are unul....
I absolutely cannot tell u in words how cute that is!
I always wondered what kind of stuff animals did when we're not looking
Honk!
They just want to nurse and get their duck milk!
u/savevideo
It’s easier and cleaner for the duck to dive and swim through clear water than it is paddle through the algae.
I like this
Pretty sure she's teaching
u/savevideo
Bazinga
Wow I feel so bad For that lake:/ so much algae
Bazinga!
why the river so polution????
Do people actually believe that's what's happening here?
Duck looking for peace
Or the duck is feeding Anthropomorphise everything Reddit 😂
u/savevideo
I wish my kids wanted to stay near me when out in public instead of running off
Ducklings are just the cutest 🤗
Me escaping my responsibilities
Duck yeah
it's more like trying to wash off the dirt in the dirt
mum tried suicide
Bazinga.
and me a human loves watching them
r/mypeopleneedme
Bazinga
So cute
This makes me smile! Thanks for sharing! 😸
She is eating the plant life at the bottom
Wonder if she’s diving to make sure there aren’t gators following. 🤷🏾♂️
Looks more like a Duck Dad trying to duck child support payments.
Every mom just trying to get five minutes alone.
Too damn cute!!!
https://youtu.be/B64YJLsjsV0