"Mandarin Ducks" not only know how to show affection, but also have superb self-defense skills!

The self-defense skills of "Mandarin Duck"

In ancient Chinese martial arts, there are Mandarin Ducks, including Mandarin Duck Tai Chi, Mandarin Duck Feet, Nine-Turn Mandarin Duck Legs, Mandarin Duck Stick, and Ziwu Mandarin Duck Sword. So how do "Mandarin Ducks" in nature avoid their natural enemies and have all the skills to defend themselves?

When the little mandarin duck hatches, it opens its eyes and sees that it lives in a tree hole more than ten meters above the ground. Why does it have to live in such a high tree right after birth? It turns out that the mother mandarin duck wants to better protect the little mandarin duck from natural enemies on land.

However, the little mandarin duck, which was just born 24 hours ago, will face the first big challenge in its life: it has to jump down from a tree more than ten meters high and quickly enter the water. The little one trembles and hides in the tree hole, not daring to move forward. Finally, after repeated calls and encouragement from its mother, the little mandarin duck musters up the courage to jump, relying on its light body, thick fur, and underdeveloped wings to increase air resistance, and finally lands safely in the thick grass.

Mandarin duck mother and baby mandarin duck in a tree hole (Picture from the Internet)

Led by its mother, the little mandarin ducks came to the waterside step by step, plop, plop... one by one, they jumped into the water to learn hunting skills from their mother. The little mandarin ducks with extraordinary talents, because of their well-developed wings and the webbed feet on the front three toes, showed strong flying ability and superb swimming skills, allowing them to hunt easily in the land and air. As migratory birds, mandarin ducks can travel long distances through mountains and rivers, breed in the Russian Far East and Northeast my country, and hibernate in warmer places in winter.

The little mandarin ducks gradually grew up and differentiated into two colors, one is the male mandarin duck with very bright feathers, and the other is the female mandarin duck that looks ordinary. "Mandarin duck" is actually a combination of words, "mandarin duck" refers to male, "yang" refers to female. "Mandarin ducks" often use their gorgeous appearance to attract "yangs". When the courtship is successful, they often accompany "yangs", snuggling together, playing in the water and hunting together. Lu Zhaolin once wrote in his poem "Chang'an Ancient Meaning" that "I would rather die than be immortal if I can become a pair of mandarin ducks." However, according to field observers, when "yangs" lay eggs and begin to raise their offspring, "mandarin ducks" secretly leave, leaving "yangs" alone to raise their offspring. In biological research, it is found that the reason for this phenomenon is that the feathers of "mandarin ducks" are too bright and easy to be discovered by natural enemies, so they leave "yangs" and hide secretly to remove their gorgeous feathers, and wait until the breeding season of the second year to change back to "gorgeous clothes". While protecting themselves, they also indirectly protect "yangs" and mandarin duck babies. However, such irresponsible behavior is also called "scum bird father".

The male mandarin duck loses its colorful feathers in the "eclipsed feather" state (picture from the Internet)

Even though mandarin ducks have many self-defense skills in their lives, whether it is the courage to challenge at birth, or the protective color and amphibious ability, they still cannot escape the clutches of humans. They are captured as food or ornamental animals. Their numbers are decreasing and they are now protected by law. If you are lucky enough to see "mandarin ducks" in Qinling National Botanical Garden, please do not disturb them and leave them a piece of natural sky.

Mandarin Duck Profile:

Mandarin duck

Scientific Name: Aix galericulata

Visibility: Occasionally in winter and spring

Found in: In pairs or small groups in open waters such as Cuihu Lake

Protection level: National II

Figure 1: Mandarin ducks resting in the rose garden

Figure 2: A male mandarin duck flying over Cuihu Lake