Wild Ducks - How do they survive against raccoons

[Nifty-Chicken]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while but was just reminded recently when I saw a Mallard female and some eggs.

How do wild ducks survive so well when there are raccoons all over the place? Do they just keep quiet while sleeping at night and fly away if they sense something dangerous close by?

I'm guessing geese can fend for themselves since they are pretty large and strong, but I doubt ducks can hold their own against a hungry coon.

Anywho, I've just had this question in the back of my head and finally got around to asking it.

Thanks!

 

[Kevin565]

Flight is probably their best asset when dealing with raccoons. Ducks have pretty good hearing so any suspicious noise usually spooks them enough to alert them to possibly fly away. Depending on the species they may roost in pretty high up trees that can make it much harder for coons to get to them than if they were in the open on the ground.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

When I saw the female and the nest in the grass I just imagined a sneaky coon coming up and jumping on her before she could get away. In that case I'd think she'd be safe, but all the eggs would get eaten.

 

[Kevin565]

Sadly that's usually what happens. Wild Broody birds are extremely vulnerable to predators especially the species that brood on the ground. That being said every year the Wild Mallards still brood dozens and dozens of ducklings at the parks down here. Sometimes hens just seem to have mother nature on their side.