A recent viral video on TikTok is showing how incredibly caring animals can be. In the clip, shared by @wildliferehab_kl, a pair of gooses can be seen adopting two orphaned goslings and making them part of their big happy family.
The orphaned goslings were found at the campus of Nassau Community College by a staff member who decided to contact wildlife rehabilitator Karenlynn Stracher for help. It turned out that the goslings were a late hatch and that their mother left before they found their way out of the eggs.
Stracher knew she had to act quickly to find a new family for the goslings to ensure they could survive in the wild. She went to the local lake and soon spotted the perfect candidate: a goose family that had goslings of a similar age as the orphans.
The method that Stracher employed involved tricking the mother goose into thinking that they were actually her babies. She took the orphaned goslings into her hand and showed them to the mother, who immediately rushed to save them.
Stracher put the goslings onto the ground, and it turned out her tactic was flawless. The pair of gooses not only accepted the babies but also created a barrier with their bodies to keep them protected from being “taken away” by Stracher.
Soon, the orphaned goslings got introduced to their new siblings, and the family was shown happily swimming away.
“No matter how many times I do this, the minute I realize that the new parents accept, [I’m] filled with a rush of emotions — excitement, joy, relief, pride,” Stracher later told The Dodo.