Mother goose looks after 47 babies with the most love ever (6+ photos)

Coronavirus quarantine has made parenthood especially difficult, but one remarkable mother goose has everyone turning their heads. Mike Digout, a wildlife photographer from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada, had been out taking walks along the riverbank of Saskatchewan.
On one of his walks, he spotted the incident that would change his mind about Canadian geese forever. He tells Pawpulous, "Before this spring, I rarely paid attention to the geese in our city, and considered them somewhat of a nuisance."
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He had originally been out to capture photos and videos of beavers, but this time, a mother goose caught his eye.
Mike Digout
He quickly noticed the mother goose he spotted had a very large number of goslings with her.
He tells Pawpulous, "I was most drawn to the mother goose because I loved the ritual of watching the goslings one-by-one crowd under her wings to sleep. Even as the number she was watching grew, she kept managing to fit them all underneath her. I was lucky enough to watch that happen many times."
Digout told The Dodo, "They’re so cute when they’re little — like little tennis balls with legs. So I started taking pictures of the goslings while I was waiting for the beavers to come around."
Mike Digout
For context, geese generally tend to hatch 2 to 8 goslings with an average clutch size of 5. Initially, Digout counted 16 goslings on his first trip.
Mike Digout
When he came back, he counted 25, then 30, and finally 47. Digout later realized not all these goslings were from the same mother. It turns out gang broods are common among Canadian geese.
What are gang broods? It's when two or more broods come together to form a larger cohesive unit. Instead of the traditional two parent family, there are usually at least 4 parents.
Digout did spot a second adult for the mother goose.
Mike Digout
This phenomenon is part of a defense mechanism that occurs typically 10 to 12 weeks after hatching. Gang broods are frequently found in urban and suburban areas where there's high nesting density.
Digout commented, "It was incredible how calm she was with so many goslings around. She seems like such a patient mom."
Mike Digout
When goslings are younger, they will nest underneath the mother's feathers.
Mike Digout
As they grow older and get too big to fit underneath the mother, the goslings then sleep in a big pile with the mother overlooking them.
Mike Digout
The following is a closeup of sleepy goslings.
Mike Digout
When not in water, the gang brood sticks together.
Mike Digout
Digout writes in a recent Facebook post, "Look how much my little goslings have grown in 18 days (May 31 – June 18)."
Mike Digout
"I am so proud of them. There are now 6 to 8 adults supervising them during the day, so the original pair I followed has lots of help."
He tells Pawpulous, "I checked in with the goslings periodically over the next month [July 2020]. I was amazed at how quickly they grew from little yellow fluff balls into actual geese. They have to be ready to migrate in the fall."
Mike Digout
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Digout's story and photos have since gone viral. He tells Pawpulous, "I think the story resonates with people because the last few months have been filled with hardship, grim news, and social isolation. Somehow, seeing this large group of goslings gave people a sense of spring, of renewal, of hope, and of family, feelings that were hard to come by over the early part of 2020."
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