Arctic Chicks and Ducklings Stay Safe
In Arctic Chicks and Ducklings Stay Safe, narrator Gordon Buchanan describes how baby birds and ducklings that live in the High Arctic have to use creative strategies to evade wolves before they are able to fly. This video is excerpted from BBC's Animal Babies, a heartwarming show that follows the first breaths, first steps, and first feeds of some adorable baby animals, revealing the challenges they face to survive in some of the toughest but most beautiful places on the planet.
Lesson Express
Q: Why are animal babies especially vulnerable to predators?
A: They aren't fully developed yet to run, fly, etc.; they are inexperienced in avoiding predators.
Q: What strategies do the birds have for escaping the wolves?
A: Move quickly to the water, where they are nimbler; the adults can fly away; the baby geese can dive under the water and emerge farther from the wolves; the mother duck creates a diversion so her chicks can hide in the shallows; the long-tailed duck chicks stay underwater, emerging to take breaths when the wolf isn't looking.
Q: What makes the white wolves dangerous predators?
A: They hunt in a pack; they aren't afraid to follow the birds into the water.
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