Our first reaction is to act to assist the infant when we learn that it has been abandoned, whether it is a person or an animal. Our motherly/fatherly intuition is triggered when we come up with ways to provide them with the love and care they require, even though we don’t have experience raising that particular species.
This instinct exists in even animals. A mother cat could adopt a litter of kittens that are not her own, while a duck might spend the day “babying” the ducklings of another duck. You may have even seen an animal tend to a different species of animal. We refer to this as an interspecies family in this instance.
A 10-year-old male Labrador and nine young ducklings make up one of the prettiest interspecies families; they reside at Mountfitchet Castle in Essex, England. Shortly after it was determined that their mother was nowhere to be found, the dog took the ducklings in. Since May 2018, CBS News’ YouTube videos depicting the modern family have received over 11,300 views.
We watch in awe as father Fred, the Labrador, cuddles with his tiny, feathered kids in the video. Despite being much bigger, Fred is a gentle giant. When it comes to allowing the beaked infants to ride on their back, the dog’s huge size is helpful.
Despite not being of the same species as the ducklings, Fred tries his best to meet their requirements. For instance, Fred enjoys taking the ducklings to the moat on his family’s castle grounds for a little dip in the water since they need to learn how to swim.
In addition to Fred and the nine ducklings, Mountfitchet Castle is also home to other rescued creatures that are allowed to roam freely on their 10-acre property. “He’s got a beautiful personality and has grown up with rescued animals,” says Fred’s owner, Jeremy Goldsmith. The way Fred interacts with the ducklings makes this extremely clear!
“With that maternal sense, I anticipated that this dog would be female rather than male. Fred is certainly a very kind and sensitive dog! a viewer’s comment on the video.
Fred may not be able to care for the ducklings exactly like a mother duck, but a family is not defined by physical similarity or genetic makeup. Instead, a family is created when at least two animals have a compassionate, altruistic attachment. Fred has unquestionably shown that.
In the video down below, you can see how the Labrador interacts with the cute newborn ducks.