The duck who really is running a taxi service

Half a dozen of the young ones appear to actually be sitting on her back, while the rest grab a hold of the train and take advantage of the slipstream she created for an easier ride.

Mark Chrimes, 49, captured the image in Queen's Park Heywood, near Rochdale, Lancashire, and was shocked by the sheer number of ducks he spotted. 

He said: 'When I started counting how many ducklings were riding along on their mums back I couldn't believe how high it was.

'At the time, I had been watching the swans chasing away several other ducks on the water, before I spotted this particular duck.'

Mr Chimes said that ducks are often camera shy - but these ones were happy to pose as he took the shot. 

He added: 'Usually, with the ducks, as soon as you lift up your camera to take a photo they move right away, so it was great to be able to get a shot on the pond this time.'

Sixteen seems like an unimaginable number by human standards and would be almost impossible to manage - but it's a big family for a duck too.

Ducks usually lay up to 12 eggs when they nest, so 16 is considerably larger than the average. 

(dailymail.co.uk)