I think some species of ducks have daycare systems. I've seen other Momducks take care of someone else's kids when the little peeper's Momduck needed a break. On one memorable occasion I went to a local park and was saddened to see no baby ducks with the Momducks... until I spotted one Momduck with about 30 babies following her. Best as I could figure, every time a little peeper got separated from its Momduck, this other Momduck would pick 'em up and add it to her flotilla. I assume that after their play dates were over they went home to their own Momducks, but they didn't seem to be left to fend on their own, either.
So I don't know if it's always true (because nature is rarely so kind) but it's certainly true *sometimes*, and you can therefore believe that good things happened to the little peepers that got lost.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: All r-selected reproductive strategies soon to end!
Date: 2007-06-11 05:08 pm (UTC)I think some species of ducks have daycare systems. I've seen other Momducks take care of someone else's kids when the little peeper's Momduck needed a break. On one memorable occasion I went to a local park and was saddened to see no baby ducks with the Momducks... until I spotted one Momduck with about 30 babies following her. Best as I could figure, every time a little peeper got separated from its Momduck, this other Momduck would pick 'em up and add it to her flotilla. I assume that after their play dates were over they went home to their own Momducks, but they didn't seem to be left to fend on their own, either.
So I don't know if it's always true (because nature is rarely so kind) but it's certainly true *sometimes*, and you can therefore believe that good things happened to the little peepers that got lost.