Sometimes it's hard to accept that nature is cruel and brutal. Take, for example, when some animal species abandon their children. But it is how it is, right? Well, nobody said that we just have to accept it and leave it as it is...
This is the lesson that Erin and Bea teach us. Bea was abandoned by her clutch before she even hatched. This whole situation didn't sit well with Bea. But by some lucky set of circumstances, Erin found her just as Bea was hatching. She wanted to call the mama duck back to the hatching nest, but couldn't do so. Therefore, Erin chose to take matters into her own hands.
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Bea was a late hatcher, and as she was still actively hatching, the rest of the clutch already abandoned her
"…there were many unhatched eggs, so on my way back through I stopped at the nest, just to confirm they were all duds. Well! It’s a good thing I did because this little bugger was actively hatching!!! It hatched a full day after the rest of the clutch. tried for hours to get mama to go back to her nest. …At sundown, baby was still resting and mama wanted nothing to do with it. I knew it wouldn’t survive the night and my conscious just wouldn’t let me ignore it," said Erin in an interview for another website.
Erin just couldn't let that fly, so she decided to adopt the poor thing
Image credits: amaducks
Image credits: amaducks
And from that point onwards, Erin took the pretty Muscovy duckling under her wing
Image credits: amaducks
Image credits: amaducks
Image credits: amaducks
Look at that cute little baby duck
Image credits: amaducks
And so, Bea grew and grew under Erin's caring hood
Image credits: amaducks
Resting at Erin's neck is one of Bea's most favorite spots
Image credits: amaducks
Image credits: amaducks
Image credits: amaducks
Bea loves to sit in her backpack carrier and be driven around
Image credits: amaducks
Erin has put a little diaper on Bea so that she wouldn't cause a mess while playing indoors
Image credits: amaducks
Image credits: amaducks
Bea looks so peaceful when she sleeps
Image credits: amaducks
There's also Blanche and Dorothy that live in Erin's backyard, and she wants them to befriend each other
"Every day I have been working to have her spend time with two other ducks. their names are Blanche and Dorothy. they live in my backyard. When she sees them she runs to greet them, so my hope is that the more acclimated she gets around them the easier it will be to transition her from inside outside."
It doesn't take much time for a duck to grow, and she's getting noticeably bigger
Image credits: amaducks
Obligatory boop photo
Image credits: amaducks
Image credits: amaducks
This is a situation that Erin calls a "pre-zoomie staredown"
Image credits: amaducks
And the great news is that Bea and Erin are only beginning their long and beautiful relationship together
Image credits: amaducks