“They are growing fast.”
Earlier this month, wildlife officials in Izmit, Turkey, were called in after 11 orphaned ducklings were discovered stuck near a busy highway, unable to get to safety on their own.
According to senior forestry engineer Mehmet Koyuer, the area where they were found was extremely dangerous, so the team’s first concern was getting the ducklings out immediately. When they arrived, there was no sign of either parent.
Although the babies were now safe from traffic, they still faced an uncertain future without a mother to care for them.
Trying to find a solution, Mehmet remembered a nearby pond where he had recently seen another duck family. That mother duck had babies that looked to be about the same age as the rescued ducklings.
Knowing that ducks can sometimes accept young that are not their own, he decided it was worth trying. He brought the rescued ducklings to the pond in a box and carefully let them out near the water.
What happened next was remarkable.
Not long after they entered the pond, the mother duck and her own ducklings approached them. Within moments, the newcomers had been welcomed into the group, and the whole brood began swimming together as one family.
Seeing how naturally the mother had accepted them, Mehmet felt confident leaving the ducklings in her care.
A week later, he returned to check on them and found the enlarged family still doing well. The ducklings, he said, were growing quickly.
Without Mehmet’s intervention, their story could have ended tragically. Instead, because someone chose to help — and because one mother duck was willing to take them in — the little birds were given a second chance.
Mehmet said caring for nature is a responsibility shared by everyone, and that protecting it brings a deep sense of joy and healing.