Corgi is Adoptive ‘Mother’ to Ducklings

Yogi is a Corgi with two ducklings, Biggie and Pac, who follow him wherever he goes. Frances Marsh brought the two ducklings home when they were just two days old after picking them up at a garden centre. The ducklings imprinted on Yogi right away and believe the dog is their ‘mother’.

Marsh, whose family owns Marsh’s Surf Shop in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, shared the adorable pictures with Animal Planet’s Wall of Fame and the images quickly went viral.

All baby birds imprint on the the first thing they see, which is usually the same species. It’s an evolutionary trait based on survival. However, sometimes, when the baby birds are raised by humans the imprinting is transferred.

It wasn’t part of Marsh’s original plan when she bought the ducklings. Five-year-old Yogi, was in the car that day and immediately fascinated with her purchase. “They were in a little box. He just leaned his head over and licked them,” Marsh said of how the bonding happened.

Why Yogi bonded with the little birds is a bit of a mystery. But Marsh just knows, “He thinks they’re his babies.”

The ducklings follow Yogi around and look to him for all of their direction and cues. Yogi, in return, has been known to sleep beside the ducklings box, herd them gently by pushing them with his nose, and once even barked to alert her that one of ducklings had gotten stuck on its back.

The ducklings have now grown out of their feather down and into adult feathers. They still treat Yogi as the head of the family. As they continue to grow into adulthood, Marsh doesn’t know if they will continue to see Yogi as their mom but for now the trio is inseparable.

Biggie, in particular, is attached to Yogi and also loves Marsh’s brother’s Golden Retriever, Occy too.

Biggie follows the two dogs everywhere.

And he drinks water just like a dog as well.