A Whiff from Eden: Cat Adopts Ducklings on Irish Farm

Cats don’t usually adopt ducklings that will quickly outgrow them. (This bird was not brought up by a feline.)



Joel Kontinen

Usually, a cat will eat tiny birds. But this did not happen on an Irish farm.

A little over a year ago, the baby ducklings that had hatched on Ronan and Emma Lally’s farm disappeared. The part-time farmers suspected that their cat had eaten them, but then they saw it carrying a duckling in its mouth.

The cat, which had just given birth to kittens, was not about to have the little birds for dinner. Instead, it adopted them.

The ducklings quickly outgrew their foster mother, but they continued following her across the farmyard.

According to the Darwinian story, nature should be red in tooth and claw. However, at times it isn’t.

This reminds us of Eden, when bad things had not yet happened. Thorns did not grow, and death did not reign in the animal kingdom. Small creatures did not fear big ones or even humans.

Source:

Langan, Sheila. 2015. Cat on an Irish farm treats lucky baby ducklings like they’re her own (VIDEO). Irish Central (18 September).