Have you ever seen a family of ducks swimming in a river or lake? When the mother duck swims at the front, the ducklings line up and follow behind her. While it may look like they’re simply following her in an orderly fashion, there’s actually a scientific reason behind it.
A team of researchers from the U.S. and the U.K. published a paper explaining how the waves created by the mother duck affect the ducklings swimming behind her. The water pressure a duck experiences differs between calm and wavy conditions. When ducklings follow the mother in a line, the resistance they face decreases compared with when swimming in still water, allowing them to move forward with greater ease. The waves created by the mother combine with the ones made by the ducklings and travel all the way to the last duckling in line.
Interestingly, the duckling at the very front of the line—just behind the mother—benefits the most from her mother. And the waves created by that duckling also affect the mother, slightly reducing the resistance she faces as well.
By swimming in a line behind their mother, the ducklings create a system of mutual support. The front leads, the back pushes, and together they glide happily through the water.