A Common Meganser mother-duck surrounded by a huge brood of 75 ducklings on a Minnesota lake spotted recently by wildlife photographer Brent Cizek.
Normally, a Merganser will only incubate a maximum of 20 ducklings. In this case, according to field editor Kent Kaufmann of Audubon, the mother had probably adopted several dozen strays that had lost their own mothers.
Mmf.