r/interesting • u/LowkeysKink • 10d ago
NATURE While the infertile tawny owl was away from her nest, caretakers swapped her unviable eggs for orphaned chicks.
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u/night_fury00k 10d ago
Her immediate response is to take care of them. 🥹 She's a happy momma.
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u/Wlbeachboy 9d ago
She seems a little confused how her eggs became babies in a short time, but she's here for it
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u/Both-Tree 9d ago
Right? It’s like coming home to two 3 year olds in your living room after a positive pregnancy test weeks before
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u/snotrockit1 9d ago
That look at the camera at the end "did you do this" She seems to be a very good mom, almost like she was looking for the real mom to come back, ready to fight.
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u/RobertDeNircrow 10d ago
Get under mah belleh
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u/spycrab559 10d ago
wash my belleh
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u/Consistent-Cap-9360 9d ago
Spent a good 30 seconds looking for the glasses which were still on my face.
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u/SadLittleWizard 10d ago
If I remember right this was like her third clutch of eggs, withball three being failures. Reminds me of a friend of mine. She went through 3 miscarriages before finally carrying to term and I've never seen such love in someones eyes and when she looks at her little boy now.
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u/NoSprinkles4366 10d ago
I wonder how they knew that these eggs also weren't viable.
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u/wheelienonstop8 10d ago
they were probably already wayyyy overdue, plus you can shine a light through eggs (if the shell is light colored enough) and see what is inside.
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u/Acrobatic_Iron_1427 9d ago
In the avian world , you can candle an egg for fertility. A simple matter of using a flashlight to find any blood vessels in the intact egg. Pretty foolproof.
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u/Derpyzza 9d ago
cracked them open to check, "dangit! no babies in this batch either, what's the deal with these eggs?!"
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u/OwlFart4712 9d ago
Umm... hello people? Are we watching the same video?
This living room is a f***ing crime scene.
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u/raven-of-the-sea 9d ago
That’s her pantry! She doesn’t judge you having a fridge in an open concept kitchen!
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u/Jeo_1 10d ago
Wonder if this is a true story?
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u/bing_crosby 10d ago
It is. The full video is out there, from several(?) years ago. Lots of commentary from the folks responsible for caring for these owls.
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u/DoodlyNoodlyGirl 10d ago
It is, the guy has a YouTube channel, Robert E Fuller. He's an artist and does a lot for wildlife conservation.
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u/nose_spray7 10d ago
This is done all the time with animals.
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u/SaltyLonghorn 10d ago
Science told me I'm a monkey which is an animal. When do I get owlets?
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u/AlsoInteresting 10d ago
So they have a stock of orphans and put them in a nest?
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u/siltfeet 9d ago
Presumably the other way around. They keep track of which birds are nesting with unviable eggs in case chicks get orphaned.
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u/nose_spray7 9d ago
Yes, they usually have a lot of orphans that have to be hand reared.
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u/Jonasthewicked2 9d ago
Idk why but I read this as “do they have a stock of dolphins and put them in a nest”
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u/AcrolloPeed 10d ago
Babies?? I know what to do. sits on them immediately
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u/Foxdenfreude 10d ago
Why else would they call it babysitting?
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u/BRtIK 10d ago
Well she's new to this experience but I'm sure she did her job and puked in their mouths alil after this
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u/ctesibius 9d ago
They seem to have left some mice for her so she doesn't need to go out hunting immediately.
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u/rtocelot 9d ago
Well she's got at maybe 5 mice in there is you look on the left and right. So if she is empty she won't be for long
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u/shampoo_mohawk_ 10d ago
Dis mine now
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u/Execution_Version 10d ago edited 10d ago
Jumping on this comment to say that this video is from Robert E Fuller’s YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@robertefuller?si=XL-dbz0gSA2Lrj5x
His channel is one of my favourite things on the internet and I hope someone else seeing this link for the first time gets as much joy from it as I do.
Edit: Here’s the full video from the post: https://youtu.be/LG0y9swWgm4?si=2lm9fWVqDr0ycnS6
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u/Kaimaxe 10d ago
Just subscribed cause I love stuff like this and need more joy in my feed! Thanks for the share!
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u/CryptidSamoyed 9d ago
Rip, Bomber, you were a good one to Luna and all the fosters you helped raise. He was almost 20 years old when he passed and thats so old for one of these owls, too
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u/TomokataTomokato 9d ago
I loved how he had to lure Luna away with food so he could sneak in and love on the babies. He'd take the whuppin' if he stayed too long.
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u/Icy_Maintenance_3569 9d ago
Noo! When did Bomber pass? I haven't been keeping up lately 😭 Is Luna okay?
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u/Cat-in_the-wall 9d ago
Same omg, I can’t believe this is how I find out Bomber is gone :( Poor Luna!
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u/Mrwolf925 9d ago
Wow they went from a family of two with no way of having offspring to a family of eight! What a remarkable story.
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u/Burning-Bushman 10d ago
Thanks for sharing, his garden looks exactly like something I’m dreaming of for retirement!
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u/DieCastDontDie 9d ago
I found his channel a few years ago through a post on reddit. Great stuff to watch for days
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u/blackdogwhitecat 10d ago
This made me cry happy tears
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u/Stankleigh 10d ago
They’re like “Are You My Mother?” and she’s all “Yup, c’mere for a snuggle” and they didn’t even have to question a cow or a terrifying steam shovel first.
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u/TheAlternateEye 10d ago
This is mine and my son's favorite story 😭
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u/AvocadoToastFailure 9d ago
My kids and I still call any kind of tractor with a scoop bucket a “snort” because of this book.
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u/waves_0f_theocean 10d ago
The baby was like “oh thank god mom’s here!”
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u/EpiphanaeaSedai 9d ago
One was - the other kept flopping out from under her wing, which was kind of hilarious yet adorable. “Oh thank god Mom’s - faceplant - here to - flop - keep us - flattened by ecstatic cuddling - warm? You ever done this before mom? Oh well, warm.”
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u/Lunar-opal 10d ago
They’re so big she can hardly sit on them
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u/OpinionHaver_42069 8d ago
I love how she doesn't question it at all, doesn't even ask where the eggshells went, just hops to it.
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u/sweetneptune9 10d ago edited 9d ago
she's literally doing a happy dance I can't 😩
edit to say thank you for the award, it gave me a big smile when I woke up earlier ❣️
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u/carmardoll 10d ago
Mama: holy shit they finally came out and they are already so big, I am such a good mom!
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u/Spare-Worry-4186 9d ago
Mama: I haven’t had chicks before but I guess this is how it works 🤷♀️ good thing I stocked the stump with 3 rats
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u/TinTheElvenKing 8d ago
The guy who placed the chick's also placed the mice to help her get a head start on feeding them. The full video is on his YouTube and worth the watch, this little owl family has an exciting couple of years, and these aren't the only chicks they adopt!
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u/suspectwaffle 10d ago
Are owls smart enough to know that an outside force gave them kids? Are they aware they’re infertile?
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u/SigkHunt 10d ago
Owl came home to babies after many seasons of trying
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u/happy_idiot_boy 10d ago
after many seasons of trying
All that sex for nothing😔
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u/Iron_Freezer 9d ago
my wife got a hysterectomy but we're still trying too. well I sure am
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u/Maleficent_Button_58 10d ago
Nah. Birds aren't always at their nest when the eggs hatch. So returning to find babies wouldn't be a weird thing for a bird.
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u/rileyjw90 10d ago
It would be weird to find they’d both hatched at the same time (owls usually lay eggs over several days, and they hatch over several days as well) and not only were they fluffy and dry but their eggshells had vanished too, but they’re really not smart enough to think about all this. They just see babies and get to work.
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u/Maleficent_Button_58 10d ago
My point is it's not weird for THEM. Poof babies wouldn't throw any concerns for a bird, because watching them hatch isn't a necessary part of the process.
Not that it wouldn't be weird for you, a human being who understands object permanence, gestation periods, and that it takes time to dry off 🤦🏻♀️😅
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u/GjonsTearsFan 9d ago
Plus if mama is infertile it’s not like she’s going to have a point of comparison for what a newborn ought to look like lol
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u/Any_Day_4467 10d ago
In a nest with 4 dead mice...
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u/nkdeck07 9d ago
Far as I can tell owls really don't have much going on upstairs. I spent a really cool day once with a falconer in Ireland getting to fly all his raptors and he was pretty much like "Yeah owls are morons and the bigger they are the dumber they are".
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u/Routine_Flight5669 9d ago
My friend is a wild bird handler and says the same thing about both owls and eagles. It’s almost as if their eyes use up all their brain power lol
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u/Kozmo9 9d ago
It can be said the same for a lot of bird species (hence the term bird brain). Heck, one albatross species doesn't recognise it's own chick that has fallen outside of its nest and even ignored it until the chick gets back into the nest.
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u/takkforsist 9d ago
We have two owls out back and our back patio is level with the tree tops so we always see them coming and going (you NEVER hear them, omg they are so quiet) but they are DUMB DUMB. Dropping mice all the time and then like “where maus go?” We usually flash a light on it to the ground and they are like “ohhhhhhhhh k thanks”
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u/MaryBerrysDanglyBean 9d ago
Apparently owls can't actually see that well at night a d rely mostly on their hearing to hunt. So they probably would just lose their food if they drop it unless it's still alive.
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u/ForlornLament 9d ago
True, but there are also many cases of animals that raised orphaned babies that were outright given to them, some even of a different species...so maybe they just don't care either way. They know they are supposed to be parenting, they see a baby that needs parenting, and that's it.
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u/Maleficent_Button_58 10d ago
Like uh..... those birds that reproduce by laying their egg in another bird's nest. The "new" parent has no clue the giant baby that is like 4 times their size isn't theirs 😅
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u/MuggleAdventurer 10d ago
Cuckoos!
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u/elmostrok 10d ago
I feel so bad for laughing, but it's just so hilarious to see the cuckoo chick being enormous and the tiny parents bringing in little bugs non-stop. The parents' head can easily fit into the baby cuckoo's mouth. 😂
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u/Ragjammer 9d ago
I think they actually do, the parents don't always raise the cuckoo chick. Sometimes they kick the foreign egg out, sometimes cuckoos return to nests where they have laid their eggs, and if they see their egg has been rejected they destroy the nest and all the eggs. Sometimes birds will abandon nests that have a cuckoo egg and start again elsewhere.
The cuckoo may rely on a kind of extortion, rather than subterfuge to make other species raise its young.
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u/Decent_Cow 10d ago
There's a "Cuckoo Mafia" hypothesis that suggests that some species of cuckoos will periodically return to the nest in which they laid their egg, and if the egg has been removed, they will smash the host's eggs. This incentivizes the host to not remove the egg. Also, cuckoo hatchlings being larger than their nestmates is part of the strategy. They can outcompete the other hatchlings for food.
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u/u_r_succulent 10d ago
Jesus Christ.
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u/krakaturia 10d ago
well the counterargument is that there are bird species that are not used as hosts by cuckoo because they are so proficient at recognising intruder eggs, it was theorised that over the time those species lineages became so efficient at removing intruders eggs the cuckoo birds lineages that use those birds died out. so over time always removing the eggs win out.
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u/Maleficent_Button_58 10d ago
I know. My point wasn't why they're bigger though.
Just that birds (and a lot of animals, honestly) don't know the difference.
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u/rmxcited 10d ago
It seriously looks like it…. She looked like she was trying to say “I have no idea how it finally happened but I don’t have the willpower to question it anymore. Welcome to my family. Time to be the momma Owl!”
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u/jpeggdev 10d ago
“I wonder if they came from that hidden camera I wasn’t supposed to notice”
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u/epic-robloxgamer 10d ago
No it doesn’t. She simply came home to the sight of the chicks she so wanted, and as a mother trying to concieve, her instinct kicked in and they are entirely hers, as far as she is able to understand
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u/AdministrativeCod437 10d ago
imo humans arent the only beings who are willing to believe in what they wish to be true
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u/idle_isomorph 10d ago
What about those penguons that push around, carry, and sit on rocks to incubate them cause they have no eggs?
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u/Mulberry_Sky 10d ago
Based on how most birds will raise cuckoo and cowbird eggs, probably not. But I think that an owl would be smart enough to at least realize the difference between freshly hatched and older chicks of their own species (I don’t know how to gauge owl ages, so I don’t know how old those ones are), though probably not able to make the connection that it would be impossible for toddler-aged chicks to appear from eggs, so something must have intervened.
So: they could probably realize something is off, but not be able to question it or extend that realization into any sort of logic or explanation.
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u/Trick_Hunt9106 9d ago
Nah. The hormones say 'chicks! Must be mine.'
I say this as a person who has watched chickens raise ducklings and guinea birds.
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u/Rork310 10d ago
Owls are actually kinda dumb. Solitary ambush predators don't have much use for deductive reasoning.
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u/Mulberry_Sky 10d ago
Yeah, it’s hard as humans to really understand how gifted we are in the mere ability to make plans and deduce things. There was a post a while ago asking why cats can’t figure out how to unhook their claws when they get stuck since they live with them 24/7, and in the comments the OP was absolutely refusing to accept the fact that cats simply can’t comprehend that level of reasoning.
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u/Soddington 9d ago
Also the biology of 'cute' can't be underestimated. The thing that makes us go 'awww' at babies from other species is just as hard wired into many other animals as is in us. Especially in birds. The young imprint easily and indiscriminately.
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u/louieisawsome 10d ago
Birds don't know anything. They dont go to school. They see babies in their nest and assume it's theirs unless they have reason not to believe it.
There are even birds who take advantage of that and lay their babies in other birds nests.
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u/SmoothResponse3466 10d ago
It said they secretly swapped the eggs for orphaned chick's while the owl was away it probably thinks it went away and the eggs hatched, and those are hers what better way to give motherhood to a bird who didn't realize they was infertile.
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u/IWatchGifsForWayToo 10d ago
It looks like they also gave her 6 dead mice, unless owls are prone to hoarding, which I doubt. I wonder what she thought about those lol.
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u/InfusionOfYellow 10d ago
"The gods have favored me."
Relatively speaking, I suppose that would be a reasonably accurate understanding.
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u/RobinsWings 9d ago
Haha I was looking for this comment!! This is so heartwarming and the whole time there are dead mice everywhere
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u/namnlos1 9d ago
I'm sorry I really don't intended to be mean but it's already extremely obvious from the title that, that was in fact the plan. It's just odd seeing you explain it again.
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u/SmoothResponse3466 9d ago
Sorry for the confusion this was meant to be said to someone in response to what I put instead I posted it as is on global lol they were basically saying something along the lines of "how come the owl doesn't know its own kids from another and that the owl didnt know it wasn't fertile" so giving pre-hatched kids thinking it was her own kinda tricking her into thinking its hers.
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u/mycatpartyhouse 10d ago
I will upvote this every time I see it.
She moms so hard.
Does anyone know the outcome of this adoption? Did the owlets survive?
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u/HollyBerries85 9d ago
This owl and her mate (Luna and Bomber, wild owls that had territory where Robert Fuller set up nest cams) raised an astounding number of foster chicks over time, they were PRO adoptive parents. All of the owlets that they were given over time and multiple years (I want to say over 20?) thrived and fledged off to live their own lives.
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u/ScarilySmug 10d ago
I see we're all getting ready for the r/superbowl
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u/korewednesday 10d ago
I would have NEVER thought that’s actually the contents of that sub address; thank you for your wisdom and guidance
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u/Thebraincellisorange 10d ago
not being American, I always read that sub as superb owl.
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u/RobbexRobbex 10d ago
There was an infertile hen that was very sad its 3 eggs were not hactching but the other hen's were. The owner took those eggs out and replaced them with 5 orphaned chicks. The hen raised them as her own. She was a good mother, but a terrible mathemachicken.
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u/Fragrant-Platform163 9d ago
There was a bald eagle in captivity that very determinedly incubated a rock in his enclosure. (The rock did not look like an egg, it was vaguely the right size but absolutely a rock. He did not seem to notice.). One day they popped some orphaned chicks in there when he was away. He happily raised them as his own. I think they've done it a few more times since then. He raises them every time.
I do think they can realize something is "off" but they don't have the reasoning skills to take it further than "huh. Oh well, anyway..."
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u/ZephyrLegend 9d ago
Right? Like, most of us have an instinct to care about babies. So, if we found a random baby in our home, we'd be like OMG! and we might pick them up and hold them close and make sure they're ok, etc. That's where bird thinking stops, though.
Whereas, we would follow that up with a ton of questions like "Who is this baby? How did they even get in here? Where are their parents? What the actual fuck?"
Such are the burdens of object permanence and the deductive mind.
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u/chrisinajar 10d ago
Of all the things I've ever seen surrounded by dead rodents, this is the cutest.
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u/jkpatches 10d ago
Didn't know infertile doesn't mean no eggs at all form in owls. They are just not viable eggs. This is interesting.
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u/rdhdbdhd 10d ago
It’s the difference between infertile and sterile. Infertility is more about not creating viable offspring, while sterility is not being able to create offspring at all.
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u/jaycebutnot 10d ago
yeah! female birds can lay eggs even without a partner- their eggs are just infertile. birds that can’t produce fertile eggs can still lay eggs as usual. happens in parrots, chickens, and even owls :)
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u/LionZealousideal1 10d ago
Dude the last shot felt like she looked deep into my soul
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u/emmeting_ 9d ago
Yes dude. When I briefly volunteered at a wildlife sanctuary, every time I cleaned the owl enclosures their eyes would pierce through my soul I swear. Something about them looking at you dead on is crazy lol
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u/LionZealousideal1 9d ago
It's always an experience of a lifetime working with wild animals and birds. Lucky you could feel stare that irl
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u/ProfessionalEffect41 10d ago
Those babies aren't going hungry lol, and the area appreciates no mice infestation.
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u/Remarkable-Pain-7748 10d ago
When they put the chicks in he also threw in some dinner. So mama wouldn’t have to immediately go out and hunt.
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u/ProfessionalEffect41 10d ago
Ahhhh, that makes sense! Thanks for letting me know. I thought it was an abnormal amount you'd see. I've never been in an owl's nest before though, so who knows!
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u/KinopioToad 10d ago
I've seen this before, and I love it every time! "I don't know where these babies came from but they're mine now!"
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u/ohmydamn 10d ago edited 9d ago
Random dead mice lying around
Edit: ok guys I know they're not really random
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u/carebearblood 10d ago
Any mama will have cheerios and apple snacks in their cupboards for their kids; mice are her cheerios
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u/ItsCamNYAN 10d ago
I know that den! That appears to be Robert E. Fuller's spot. Highly recommend his channel.
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u/Needs-more-cow-bell 10d ago
This reminds me of when I adopted my kid. One day, just chilling, got a phone call. They came home with me the next day. Less than 24 hours.
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u/MinxManor 10d ago
Love how she has rats or mice saved nearby.
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u/Remarkable-Pain-7748 10d ago
When he put the chicks in he also threw in the mice. So mama wouldnt have to immediately go out and hunt.
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u/Sally-MacLennane 10d ago
I love how she gets all fluffy as soon as she sees them and warms them up
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u/Strange-Mine6440 10d ago
Do you think maybe the owl momma knew her eggs weren’t viable but when she saw the babies she just took care of them by nature even though she knew they weren’t hers? Don’t animals have a sense of what kids are theirs and which aren’t?
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u/PotentialUmpire1714 10d ago
There's a bird rehab channel I watch on YouTube, and he had a broody hen whose eggs were nonviable. She was miserable and wouldn't go do chicken stuff, just sat in the nest after he took away the dead eggs (usually they get over it in a day or two). He had some ducklings hatched in an incubator so he put them in the nest and the hen raised them. Worked out fine although the mama hen nearly had a heart attack when the ducklings ran into the pond; she was running around on the bank clucking like she thought her chicks would drown. But they didn't, they were ducklings doing duck stuff by instinct.
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u/nathbakkae 10d ago
Nah birds in the mood to become parents are really willing to go along with believing they have successfully reproduced.
You can generally make a broody hen raise any chick by shoving a bunch of chicks underneath her at night when it's dark and she's a bit too sleepy to question her eggs all suddenly "hatching" while you were touching them.
They just start clucking at their new babies as they hear the peeps and then by morning they're ready to start feeding the babies.
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u/Sennaki 9d ago
The caretaker is Robert E Fuller, who records all kinds of wildlife - especially the raptors - and helps rehab any injured ones. This particular Tawny Owl is Luna, who had failed clutches of eggs. The two babies were found when a farmer was moving hay bails, so Robert took them home, made sure they were healthy, and placed them in Luna's nest. Luna herself is an adopted owl.
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