We all remember the story of “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Anderson. A family of ducks adopts a hapless foundling, but it grows up thinking it is “ugly.” In the fairytale, the duckling grew up, realizing it was a swan and was beautiful at the end. In the real-life version, the lead role wasn’t a swan, which leads us to our “cheep” puns. When a group of ducks adopt a baby chicken, it’s a new version of the ugly duckling!
That’s right, a baby chicken was adopted by a family of ducks! Unlike the fairytale, though, this duck family treats the chick like a duck. This ugly duckling chicken found its place in the world. As a baby, the little chick toddled behind mama duck and swam like the baby ducklings. As they grew, they believed they were a duck and now acts just like their duck siblings!
In nature, it is not unusual for one species to adopt another. Often, animals see another in need, and their natural parenting and nurturing genes kick in. Albert the sheep adopted a baby elephant, and the two are now inseparable. After a tiger lost her litter, zoo officials gave her a litter of piglets she had raised as her own! Animals are truly amazing, and we can learn much about treating each other simply by watching their behavior.
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