Brave Wood Ducklings Take 30-Foot Leap of Faith

A dozen wood ducklings have just hatched in their treetop nest. Next comes the hard part: each and every one will have to leap 30 feet into the Mississippi River, to join their mother.
From the Series: America's Mississippi: The Heartland bit.ly/2DPSXGr

[@alligaytor4253]

Ducklings: “I jumped off a 30 foot cliff into some water!” Arctic goslings: *”Ha...amateurs”*

[@dylanclay5167]

Just a Potato wood ducks jump 30ft into water Artic goslings: hold my artic grass

[@manooch]

How do they know that 30 feet under them , is a soft material safe to jump into , they just came out of the eggs , how do they know what is water at all ! , the only answer is instinct

[@orxanaliyev4913]

Barnacle goose:Hold my wing

[@Slicklickz]

@@manooch The mother selects the nest location above water.

[@andiestrauss8926]

Bro I lost my soul Everytime the goslings hit rocks.

[@tarassu]

This success rate cheers me up. Compared to jumping from a cliff

[@izukumidoriya4500]

@MidnightSerena Yep

[@ata.d1413]

@MidnightSerena that was horrifying

[@lidana6641]

Yep

[@bethwright8595]

I hate to tell you that the wood duck nestlings aren't out of the woods, so to speak, once they hit the water. They face all kinds of perils out there, from snapping turtles and other large aquatic turtles to fish like largemouth bass to bullfrogs to species of aquatic snakes, as well as avian predators like wading birds, crows, and gulls who would love to have them for dinner, and often do. And they may get separated from the female by all sorts of factors including human disturbance - people out on boats who don't show appropriate respect and let the brood of wood ducks all swim by before they proceed. I object to the human interference but the rest is part of natural food webs. That's why the females lay 10 to 15 eggs. It may sound cold, but that's biology. And it's an example of evolution by natural selection: only those ducklings who are fast enough and smart enough to stick with the female to the extent possible and evade sorts of predators will live to reproduce and pass on their genes to another generation of Wood Ducks.

[@lobsanggyaltsen6465]

At least this time they jumping in water not rocks.

[@noahvintageweedkiller3154]

God. I watched this one right after the goose one and I was about to shit myself at the "failure to launch" line

[@isabellaayala5534]

Noah 'VintageWeedKiller' OMG YESSS!!! I just saw that one too...now I feel bad for saying my life is tough

[@CL-mp4vn]

You mean the video from National Geographic channel ? Those are barnacle artic baby geese, not wood ducklings. I'm still feeling sad every time remembering that.

[@blahdolaking7515]

Still sad from that

[@duongjoseph]

Noah 'VintageWeedKiller' Me too

[@sandracamillefernandez9489]

this way more soothing than the goose chicks jumping off a cliff. 😅

[@maxrockatansky3710]

Thay jumping is so traumatizing. They just drop and drop and drop and drop.

[@cathydevicente8059]

I know! My heart keeps bearing faster everytime the chick hits the rock 😭

[@soupertlh2674]

definetly

[@francodevilliers6370]

Yea😅

[@ladyrumn6403]

Ikr 😌

[@ieatbees5738]

Arctic Gosling: Hold my beer

[@JangoMango007]

GuyCalledSean Showed my friend that video and she screamed in abject horror.

[@magicpigeon_]

GuyCalledSean barnacle goose actually

[@rematlau8308]

Braaah

[@hulk7402]

Arctic gosling, son of Ryan Gosling

[@leversoncavalcante7711]

Barnacle geese jump of a big mountain ohh

[@marktitus6081]

Snow goose chicks: “Am I a joke to you?”

[@B-RaDD]

Seriously what I was thinking... These guys are punks

[@magicpigeon_]

PrimalNuggets I think you mean barnacle goose

[@savvasavva2635]

Hypno lullaby fan here 😱

[@Death_Omen]

*30 foot leap of faith* Me: >-> *looks back to other video* *"snow goosling takes 400 foot drop"*

[@sitinurnatasha9218]

Slick Fur add *not on soft or splashy spot* at artic geese

[@jayoils123]

Slick Fur I seen that one mans they was surrounded by all rocks not water

[@magicpigeon_]

Slick Fur I think you mean barnacle gosling not snow goosling

[@chenalindelossantos967]

Yep, im from that video too. Only 50% survives. And they leap from a very tall tall mountain rock. And lands on rocky surfaces

[@angeramirez25]

@@chenalindelossantos967 yeahh i saw a leap of 200 ft of a cliff!!! The baby chicks landed in pure rock and survived and i was like 😨😨😨 are they aliens or what!

[@tbhidkfr]

Came from the 400 ft drop one and I’m still upset.

[@kamsiadigwe8287]

me too

[@sstinkyyX]

Me too😭

[@loislovescheese4776]

Shaquille Oatmeal SAME😭😭😭

[@laboot7447]

At least it live

[@erickgarcia6687]

Not me

[@Bea-el7zn]

Anyone else come from the goats climbing the dam then the goose chicks jump from 400ft?

[@sodium.iodine8347]

Me

[@angeliquescarpa9433]

Me!

[@starsoverthere]

Me(:

[@snowy5419]

And bfor that goats climbing a dam?

[@unillogical8154]

I came from the geese but I have watched the goats climbing the dam

[@adansancheznieto9705]

Why it seems that almost everyone in this comment section have seen the vid of geese chicks jumping of a 400ft cliff

[@MaryJaneJones.]

Because we did 🤣

[@LeoLeo-yi5yx]

We did

[@abyz9774]

Bangbabangbabangbang yea this video appeared directly after the 400ft cliff jumping one.

[@rosehernandez475]

Yes its a miracle

[@jtrobins1]

Lol, that's the last video I watched.

[@oaknuggens]

My dad brought home a wood duck that was abandoned. She's sweet and will climb until she's on your shoulder

[@GrandCorsair]

It's just nice to watch these chicks safely land in the water and not hit what feels like every rock on the way down.

[@christophercruz1513]

Only 50% of gooseling survive--- the KZbin video I just watched before this one

[@shely_D7vil]

These are ducks not gooses

[@imtiazmallick]

Same

[@rizwanhashmi4608]

Same here...

[@elcambiollego]

Thank you youtube, after watching the 400 foot rocky leap of doom and carnage I really needed this.

[@HotHed]

Bro same just watched that

[@pinsiew7497]

⁰⁰⁰0⁰

[@Makaveli-v]

Haha same here

[@youjirohanmma6485]

🤣

[@sachinmukherjee7247]

Me also 👍

[@joyceyang6976]

Awesome! They all made it!! Snow goose chicks had it tough 😬 Glad to see wood duck chicks only needed to jump into water 👍🐥😄

[@melady.x7468]

Had 4 of these ducklings walking around our house!! And we live no where near water. Took them to the animal rehabilitation center. Too cute

[@Biobele]

At least they fell on water and didn't hit several rocks on their way down and 30 ft is no 400foot drop. Long story short the duck makes better parenting choices than the artic geese

[@smirkfanta5535]

If arctic geese made their homes on a 30ft wood.... the gooslings wouldn't even make it out of their eggs, because of the predators

[@Biobele]

@@smirkfanta5535 the predators must really love artic geese meet, why no predator attack these 30ft ducklings

[@smirkfanta5535]

@@Biobele actually many reasons 1. Both of them exist in different regions. Different regions mean different predators. I believe the predators of the duckling region may not be birds or some creature that can fly high. 2. They were well hidden. They were hidden in a hole but the geeslings were exposed on top of a nest. Fortunate for them, they were present on a 400ft rock where no predators can reach and not on a short tree.

[@kamoteking8529]

Crocs for ducklings

[@Biobele]

@@smirkfanta5535 they can fly so they can migrate, if their fear was flying creatures I'm sure 400ft open exposed nest will not stop those flying creatures like it didn't, they could have flown to deserted islands, dug holes, made nest on steep slopes or sides of mountains, in or on trees other creatures cannot access or rocks other creatures can not walk on like most other birds do. Instead of let the chicks drop 400ft they could have carried them on their beak or broken their fall by flying towards them and tossing them in the air a couple times and also once the jump is made one of the two parent bird should already be on the ground waiting to protect the chick those geese are just dumb parents that's all

[@Megalith79]

I love how between the narration, the camera angles/effects and the music, how much raw drama and emotion these Smithsonian people can conjure up. You could literally have this crew do an in-depth documentary on your tea kettle in its journey to a whistle on your stove top n it’d leave you in tears by the end of it.

[@theusher2893]

Just goes to show how easily emotions can be manipulated and misplaced.

[@Megalith79]

@@theusher2893 and your insinuation being what exactly?

[@ZuhaLoveMusic]

No, right now I just can't take this level of adorable. It's too much 💔💔💔😭😭

[@unnikrishnanpanikkar5254]

Thanks to God for how beautifully he plans life on this planet that suits all!

[@CeCe-wg8bm]

At first I was afraid that the final duckling was going to miss the water and get hurt, but I'm really glad it's okay 😌

[@kirbyn5611]

I thought the exact same thing

[@lefatgioboi8984]

ummmmm um

[@brendadema6132]

xXCocoaXx xXCacaoXx uhmmm spoilers

[@MadBugsxxx]

Watch arctic gooses

[@okthen910]

@@MadBugsxxx I was gonna comment thay

[@FeliDJrah]

Man alive. No matter how many times I watch these, it never gets any easier. Everytime I see wood ducklings take that leap of faith, my anxiety increases ten fold.

[@ovidiucurescu446]

If the creation is so beautiful, how wonderful is the Creator?!

[@jeremeyellis16]

Video title says 30 ft drop. Drone footage makes it look like 100 ft drop. Actual footage looks like a 6 ft drop 🤣

[@toofani]

Exactly! Not a one single panning shot of full drop.

[@brightnight1372]

Animal instincts amaze me every day.. 🍃

[@maxrockatansky3710]

Go watch 400ft drops on the rocks and you'll be amazed by their dare to.

[@TheeFri2]

I’m glad I watched this one after the gosling one. This one made me go awww-!

[@lumisahayaraj3371]

OMG the pretty baby ducking it's awesome. Thank you for this little ones....

[@chandrani3085]

This is so relaxing to see these chick are all safe with their mom

[@reddevs7075]

Wood Ducklings : Oh My Gosh I'm Gonna Die!!! Artic Ducklings : Hold My Beers....

[@blaiseyunforgotten795]

Also arctic duckling: *dies*

[@dv9096]

Nope.. Hold my wings !

[@MithunKumar-pd8zj]

70th

[@forhadraza2689]

Thanks they landed safely.

[@user-ui5en9rt6d]

Subhn Allah beautiful birds🐦 thank you very much to this video Am from BAGHDAD IRAQ 🇮🇶

[@peerdox2275]

Ameeen

[@somizaidi449]

Incredibly courageous ducklings👌

[@shaqwiththecombo]

Are we not going to talk about how the mother managed to fit herself in that small tree?

[@kezalik]

Is it main problem ? Question should this ; how these chicks know what to do now suddenly adopt everything they came the world and they know everything... i dont even talked about artic chick they even know parachuting ... everything is like what Quran says.. recommending the read suretun "Nahl" u ll be shocked.. we are belong to Allah and we will return to Him..

[@antoniomallari2622]

She fit hereself, the evidence is convincing or those ducklings were all drawings.

[@thresherslicer9567]

@@kezalik thats what we call instinct.

[@GORT70]

No, we are not…..

[@deshantdevkota2563]

Who is here after a goat climbing a dam, then 400ft artic goose ??? Now 30 foot leap of faith

[@UltraMagaFan]

Last spring I saw a wood duck hen and 14 ducklings while fishing. It was the coolest thing. i see the adults all the time but that's the first time I've ever seen ducklings.

[@sakshiangural9041]

Still in grieve for those geese.. Poor ducklings..

[@Pollmm_av1]

They are so cute 💕

[@FeliDJrah]

And so soft with their baby down.

[@maxrockatansky3710]

Who else made a mistake of watching this first and 400ft second.

[@DelightLovesMovies]

They are so cute when they are babies.💞

[@sumanchetry867]

This clip refreshed my mind after watching the previous rock landing video.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

Plot twist: this is the actual film in reverse. Those ducklings are even more insanely amazing than they appear here.

[@pigeonfowl474]

I BELIEVE I CAN FLY

[@remonahmed6202]

😂😁😀😂😁😀

[@ihabjazi8897]

Hahahahahaaaaaa

[@fredyrodriguez8881]

Pigeon Fowl but they can’t fly yet

[@cuaruaocsen]

wow ❤❤❤ nice video duckling ❤❤ a lot of know ledge ❤❤ thank you for sharing

[@TheVhangkhitha]

Ahh this is a better batch then the other ones. **Scrolls up to see the other video** *I wish I didn't have to be reminded*

[@B.Pv2]

Glad they are okay good there's water there cuz the other one I watched is full of rocks to one chick survived ;-;

[@B-RaDD]

@ilovepenguinz waddlewaddle watch it it's incredible

[@R6bins]

First I watch goats climbing a dam, to attic geese jumping a high cliff and now these jumping in the water. Anyone else?

[@lindatpwk6034]

Patrick Ruiz 🙋🏻‍♀️

[@shwetapandey6079]

Me

[@perrymatherne2021]

The most beautiful duck in the world

[@afshintayarani1632]

An Excellent comment. THX Mr. Moderate. A very sharf version with an excellent sound and view

[@laurazarate463]

WoW! How Brave they are!

[@jamespisano1164]

That's so endearing.

[@maisnamthoithoi8813]

This is nothing to jump Even they jump down on the rocks baby ducks can't die This is called power of duck🦆🦆🦆 Love from Manipur north east India

[@simakardous]

I love to watch those babies jump like a circus show . Really unbelievable and so sure of themselves , no fear , no hesitation , wow wow , its great 👌👌👌👌💖💖💖💖

[@marknc9616]

Newly hatched wood ducks have a claw on each foot for the sole purpose of them climbing out of the nest.

[@ckchong28]

*Barnacle goose: Really? River? Pfft...*

[@nurullah5011]

Awesome lifestyle but ever easy! Very lucky all duck chicks ❤️ Thanks Smithsonian!

[@mrpankau]

My 2 1/2 year old daughter loved the heck out of this.

[@inzayan1d289]

The last jump was very dangerous ... lol

[@ToxicWyvern1]

"The Eagle has Landed" ...But, they're ducks

[@davidg.3664]

ToxicWyvern1 ikr fail.

[@aknadiri2520]

Its a joke wtf man.

[@marketo_9253]

r/wooooosh

[@michelangelobuonarroti916]

Not a fan of history, huh?

[@davidg.3664]

@Viktor Birkeland shut tf up

[@saidshah4044]

What a beautiful creation by God... We can just guiss how beautiful The God Shall be.... really amazing vedeo....

[@ihabjazi8897]

The critical moment is at to LIVE or to DIE , but eventually the internal echo is GO AHEAD 🐥🦆

[@user-sv2lp6zn2v]

Man I love your narration!

[@j.s.2281]

Better than the geese that jump off of cliffs, cartwheeling from the rocks they hit on their way down. .

[@theun-personing5674]

Can't possibly get any cuter than that. 🤗

[@sadbird5982]

oh my god ! the ducks is jumping from the tree to the water so beautiful ducks 🐦🐥🐤🐣🐦

[@angelicasanchez3938]

Brave creatures!! 👏🏻👏🏻

[@hirotanaka3696]

80% of the comments taking about how unfortunate those snow goose chicks

[@shaind]

One small jump for a duckling, one giant leap for a duckkind.

[@balayethossainjoy1345]

Even I Love My South African Xhosa Children More Then My Own Life My Hearts Crying for Them See

[@Chrissy-mf7su]

Narrator: The eagle has landed Me who just came from 400 ft Gosling jump: Not another one! 😭 @traumatized for life

[@AmyCCloverlanez]

1:12 ME: "ill wait for the next train going out, I don't mind."

[@chikeziejohn3057]

So beautiful 😍❤️..they so much loves water.

[@shodazhamaumram.]

Well done, my beautiful chicks, everyone got to the water very carefully.

[@Sana-ik7pf]

It teaches how to be brave, when you are absolutely down . But I wouldn’t be able to do it

[@madhumaniar1801]

Thank you, makes good sense

[@cb250nighthawk3]

I used to take 5-foot jumps of fun.

[@elhadjiamadoujohnson4166]

“Houston we have a problem....The Eagle has landed”

[@beatpirate8]

So many animals have to be brave the moment they are born

[@daudbaigsapien1041]

The last duckling could be next king of his group

[@lolec7741]

Lol it’s funny how almost everyone came after the goose video, youtube is into something

[@ngangomtennyson1367]

When the narrator said, "the eagle has landed," my heart sank for a moment. I legit thought for a moment an eagle had come to take its prey. Couldn't have handled that after the artic goose that jumped a 400 ft cliff.

[@haneefahmoore6440]

Awww overload cuteness💖💖💖💖💙💙💙💙

[@bedazzledlife9719]

That’s one big step for ducklings one giant waddle for duck kind 😏

[@DatcleanMochaJo]

Daily reminder its nice to be a human. Also wood duck moms are hardcore

[@alicevulpes7259]

Sigo sin palabras: estas aves son extraordinarisa, su naturaleza. Es bella la naturaleza, lastima que el ser humano la destruya.

[@rezaero]

So adorable! 💕💜

[@parimalgoradiya8538]

Great Great photography I cannot show my happiness in words BUT I say thank to make this video and sharing with me

[@naturebirdshobby7442]

SOO CUTE THEY ARE😍😘😍

[@Goghahahahahaeej]

90% of these comments are about the snow geese chick 😭

[@phillipayoung10]

Houston...we have splashdown!! All present and accounted for!!

[@kicauan_menggelombang]

wonderful video. love to see this. thanks for uploading this

[@fafnhir_]

*Oh siriously KZbin? You recomended me some little bird jump?* Gladly, they jump on water and there's no crow or another predators. -_-

[@mansukhthakor365]

Thanks so much for

[@emleaf3398]

At least this time we didn’t have to see the chicks getting bounced around on rocks

[@mariooliveiraneto2900]

just wonderful ! congratulations

[@052760kira]

So sweet…feet are shaking

[@toniwesley4467]

They should be happy they aren’t mountain geese.

[@AndiDuck]

AND -- that's why ducks are awesome ¯\(°_o)/¯

[@cb250nighthawk3]

Peking ducks are the most awesome... (°∆°)

[@AwesomeYena]

What about *barnacle geese*

[@AwesomeYena]

@I_360_No_scoped_JFK Exactly!

[@zion4985]

I love duckings jumping down a tree and land in the water 💕💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💗💙💚💛❤💜💝💞💟💌💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[@yurykoespinoza9928]

Also duck: I’m ducky quack quack and I’m going to enter the fall zone.

[@agussururi1195]

Snow duck : this just underage play

[@user-hx9mh3nx2v]

Agus Sururi so damm true

[@magicpigeon_]

Agus Sururi do you mean barnacle goose?

[@jaylee6083]

3:37 I thought the little Wood duckling was going to die

[@starpawsy]

We had this with Australian Wood Ducks on our farm (in Australia of course).

[@alexe7234]

Extremely lively video ! Guys who didn`t like the video , PLEASE write back , I wont to understand you , what do you thing is wrong here ; thank you for an advance !