Posts tagged "ducks"

If a local-news reporter rescues a brood of ducklings stuck in a storm drain, is it news? Well, to us it certainly is, but we're Paw Nation. We're not as convinced that "Good Morning America" had to broadcast it to the whole country on network TV. Maybe it was a slow news day, but we have a sneaking suspicion that Josh Elliot's need to make a series of duck-related puns was a motivating factor in getting the piece aired in the first place. Not that we're looking down on Elliot; baby animals and puns are our bread and butter. Forget grumpy old George Stephanopoulos, Josh. Come hang out with us instead!

"Dad, can you buy me a genuine original Duncan Butterfly yo-yo?"
"What in blazes is that?"
"I saw it on TV!"
"All that means is that it's probably more expensive than a regular yo-yo. I'll get you a regular yo-yo."
"But Dad, it's not the same!"
"A regular yo-yo was good enough for me when I was your age. I did the Walk the Dog with a regular yo-yo. I did the Around the World with a regular yo-yo."
"But I don't wanna Walk the Dog or Around the World; I wanna hypnotize ducks."
"You want to do what?"
"The guy on TV hypnotized these ducklings with a genuine original Duncan Butterfly! I wanna do that!"
"I do not understand what you kids spend your money on these days."

Breathe easy, paw patriots; our long paw-national nightmare is over. Following six weeks of uncertainty, a Minnesota sales manager has been chosen from among some 12,500 hopefuls as the new voice of America's favorite quacking spokescritter, the Aflac duck.

The new quack artist is one Daniel McKeague, 36, of Hugo, Minn. according to ABC News. Aflac dumped comedian Gilbert Gottfried as the voice of the duck last month after he posted a series of jokes about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disasters on his Twitter feed. Since then, the insurance giant has held open auditions for a new voice actor to provide the only word the iconic duck ever utters: "Aflac!"

Aflac selected McKeague after conducting their nationwide hunt primarily online through social networks. His first performance in his new role debuted last night during NBC's "The Voice," as a nation shook its collective head in astonishment that a Midwestern dad could be plucked from obscurity and be paid six figures to shout one word over and over again.

Says McKeague of the gig, "It is not just getting behind a microphone and screaming 'Aflac.'" Who are we to disagree?

Interspecies play gets us every time, and today is no different.

Pit bulls too often get a bad rap, but if every person wary of owning a pit were to watch this video of one of them canoodling with a baby duckling, it might change a lot of minds.

I mean, look at the way the duckling touches the dog's nose! How can you not want both?

We really love watching tiny animals overcome their daunting, human-size challenges. Next up: duckies vs. chinchillas in a climb-off (please, oh please).


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The ducks are hungry! The ducks are hungry! And what's worse is that there are bread crumbs (or some unidentifiable pile of grub) staring them in the face. If only the cutest puppy in the world wasn't in the way.

Watch nature take its course as even the smallest of canines instinctively protects his food (or what he's claimed as his food) from interlopers.

When I was a kid, we had one of those signs hanging up that said, "Be like a duck: calm on the surface, but always paddling like crazy underneath." I understand the sentiment, but c'mon. Not all ducks have the same personality. Sure, some of the more neurotic ones might "paddle like crazy" around the pond, but then there are ducks like this wee fella, who swam all the way here from Daily Squee with a technique that's easy like yesterday morning. "You don't always have to fight the current," the duckling tells Paw Nation. "Sometimes you need to just go with the flow and see where life takes you. That's what keeps a smile on my bill."

Someone is definitely trespassing here, but we don't want to make any judgments.

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It was duck week last week at Daily Squee, and we couldn't have been happier. The endless procession of ducklings had us tee-heeing so long that we could barely breathe. But one fuzzy-bellied quacker stood out as the cutest of all and it's this little fella, strutting that waterproof stuff in front of his synthetic brothers.

Is it caroling season already? Oh wait, that's Photoshop.

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What is it with farm animals wandering around New York City lately? Just weeks after Evan the goat was found in the Bronx, three teenage ducklings were discovered in Boro Park, Brooklyn. Rina Deych, a registered nurse and member of the New York Bird Club, rescued the birds, took them home, and called the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY, where they are now recovering from their ordeal.

Deych tells Paw Nation that she and her son were driving to the supermarket on a rainy Saturday morning. "As we approached the intersection, we saw a crowd of people in the middle of the street," she writes to Paw Nation. "As we got closer, we noticed [the ducks on the ground and] a crowd consisting of children of all ages (from toddler to twenty) stomping and flailing their arms as if they were trying to hit the ducks, and yelling. The ducks were huddled together and, visibly petrified. I screamed at the kids, 'What are you doing?' Then I grabbed the ducks and placed them one by one in the car."

Luckily for the ducks, Deych is a veteran animal rescuer, and always has cat food in her car. "I fed the ducks the cat food," Deych said. "I could tell they were young because, while their bodies were large, they were chirping like babies! I knew they had most likely fallen off a slaughterhouse truck since the feathers on their backs had rubbed off and left raw wounds. This usually happens when they are packed tightly in crates." There were three ducks in total, all male Moulards, a breed commonly used in the notoriously cruel production of foie gras.

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In a small Iowa town, a pet dog and a pet duck have -- through fate's unknowable machinations -- become platonic lifemates. Not exactly apocalyptic in its implications, but eyebrow-raising nonetheless. After all, the only thing we've ever known about a dog's relationship with ducks is from a certain 8-bit computer pooch who mocked us for failing to shoot the agile waterfowl and lifted their carcasses in triumph when we managed to light-zap them. So why have these two animals suddenly become Pals4Life?

According to Des Moines's KCCI news, the duck had an of-species ladyfriend, but she unfortunately died. Growing lonely without his beloved, the duck took to the Labrador for company, and a bond was formed. That's very sweet. We, however, think there's more going on than what we're being told.

Notice at 1:15, in the below video, when a couple of cats show up to torment the bird, as cats are wont to do. Where can a lonely, put-upon duck run, or waddle, to for protection? Why, it seeks help from cat's eternal enemy of course. We prefer to read this tale as an animal version of My Bodyguard. Judge for yourself.

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When banker Joel Armstrong noticed a duck nesting in a ledge on his office building in Washington State, he didn't necessarily prepare himself for the responsibility he'd have to bear upon the hatching of the eggs tucked under the brush.

But when the chicks did, in fact, hatch, Mother took to the ground, requesting for the little ones to line up in tow. Unfortunately, the ducklings couldn't make the jump, and as they teetered and tottered, knowing they had to get to the ground to march behind Mama, Armstrong acted quickly. After cupping together and extending his hands, the wee ones proceeded to jump into his palms before he carefully lowered them to the ground, reuniting Mom with her kin who, soon after, led them to water.

Now those are the hands of someone we'd trust with our money, especially if they smelled like BABY DUCKS!

Question of the morning: Is it considered a breach of national security when a mother duck and her flock of ducklings traipse on the White House lawn?

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