Animals truly are unique, and they often surprise us with their remarkable behaviors. Despite what we might think, they might be even more impressive than we realize.
Imagine finding a baby animal and caring for it as if it were your own, without seeing any difference. Most people would find this nearly impossible. But a Florida woman has found something that might just prove animals are better than us.
Laurie Wolf discovered something extraordinary in her backyard. An owl and a duckling were living together. Laurie, a wildlife artist and amateur photographer, took photos of this unusual pair and sent them to National Geographic.
She admits she was stunned by this surprising bond and still finds it hard to believe.
Laurie first spotted an Eastern Screech Owl in a box on her patio. A month later, she noticed that the owl had a new companion. She initially thought it was a baby owl.
But this selfless owl had taken in the duckling as its own. The duckling was actually a wood duck, a species known to sometimes live with screech owls.
Laurie was concerned that the owl might eventually see the duckling as prey. To ease her worries, she consulted a local bird expert. He confirmed her fears, so Laurie reached out to a wildlife sanctuary for help. They agreed to take the duckling in.
Laurie and her husband tried to capture the duckling as it hopped out of the box and headed toward a pond. That was the last time they saw it.
Laurie remains unsure about the owl’s intentions. She hopes that it genuinely adopted the duckling out of kindness.
Christian Artuso, the director of Bird Sanctuary Canada, explains this behavior as “brood parasitism.” Wood ducks often lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, hoping their genes will be passed on.
Artuso recalls a 2007 incident where an owl hatched three wood ducklings. While it’s challenging to understand the owl’s thoughts, this behavior might be linked to what scientists call “supernormal stimuli.” This means the owl could be nurturing the duckling simply because it’s instinctively driven to care for any egg it encounters.
Artuso adds that wood ducklings are very independent, which could have helped them survive. There are many documented cases where chicks from one brood end up in another.
