Nanaimo man befriends duckling after his dinner unexpectedly hatches
Khim was planning to cook a Cambodian delicacy for dinner — a duck egg. But instead of his culinary plan hatching, his wife discovered a duckling had.
“He was out of the egg,” Leanne says, before showing me a video of the baby bird’s head poking out of the shell. “So it was like, no eating him!”
The couple decided to keep the duck and named him Tiny.
“He was so cute,” Leanne smiles, recalling how the bird would fit in the palm of her hand or perch on top of one her children’s heads.
Her husband Khim woke up at five o’clock every morning to care for Tiny. He would spend three hours with the duckling before work, hand-feeding him a breakfast of bugs on a stick, before allowing him to cuddle near his neck.
“I got to really take care [of him],” Khim smiles. “[Be] gentle [with him].”
One of the best times with the bird was tub time.
“He was so tiny in the bathtub,” Leanne smiles, before showing video of Khim leaning over the tub’s edge protectively watching the duckling swim. “But he got bigger! So his bathtub had to get bigger!”
And when Tiny outgrew the kiddie pool, Khim started taking the duck for rides in the truck. The now full-sized bird rides shotgun on their way to have fun.
“They have a very special relationship. Tiny only wants to be with Khim,” Leanne smiles. “They go fishing on the boat together. They go out on the lake. They go for walks.”
I first noticed the dynamic duo walking along the beach together. Tiny follows Khim everywhere. No matter how many times the man turns, the duck is close behind.
“He’s stuck on me!” Khim smiles, looking down at Tiny. “It feels really good!”
But perhaps the best thing about walking together is how it inevitably turns to talking together.
“He makes this special noise,” Khim says, before imitating the way Tiny quacks at him.
Khim learned to how to respond to Tiny in a way the duck seems to understand and uses the sounds to give directions when the bird gets distracted.
“I go, ‘Quack, quack, quack,’” Khim smiles. “Then he starts coming back.”
And now there’s no turning back to Khim’s original culinary quest.
“No more eating [them]!” Khim smiles. “Because they come out smart like a human do.”
Instead, Khim says his goal is to care for Tiny the best he can. It’s what parents do.
“I’m his mom,” Khim laughs, before Tiny waddles off to their next adventure together. “And his dad too!”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.