The living habits of eider ducks

Ducks are usually considered to be low-energy animals. Apart from being able to swim, their survival skills seem to be mediocre. However, perhaps due to the pressure of the environment, the arctic eider ducks seem to have quite high IQs.

The eider duck has a fat body and looks velvety. This is due to the Arctic environment. In spring, male eider ducks wear distinctive black and white feathers, while most of the female eider's body is brown.

Every year in late summer, islands in the Arctic are surrounded by water, making it difficult for Arctic foxes and others to set foot in them. At this time, eider ducks begin to build nests and breed on the islands. The nests are usually built under driftwood or a clump of seaweed to provide shelter from the wind. Female eider ducks lay 1 to 10 eggs per clutch (an average of 5).

What’s surprising is that the eider duck’s nest area is very close to the nest of a kind of seagull, and this kind of seagull is not easy to get along with. It is a hunter of eider duck eggs and young. In this case, why do eider ducks still like to interact with this kind of seagull? What about seagulls as neighbors? It turns out that the eider duck relies on the power of this seagull to drive away its more powerful enemies such as skuas and arctic foxes. This allows the seagull to protect its own nest area while also protecting the eider duck from harm. The eider duck's practice of sacrificing local interests in exchange for greater benefits is indeed very smart.

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