Leap of faith: Heart-in-mouth moment tiny ducklings jump off a waterfall to keep up with their mother

This is the moment a group of young ducklings bravely followed their mother down a dangerous looking waterfall.  

In footage, recorded in Romania on June 24, onlookers can be heard gasping as the 10 tiny birds prepare to leap over the edge to the water below. 

But they react with cheers as all the ducklings make it safely down and return to their mother.

In the minute-long video, the group can be clearly seen peering over the edge of a waterfall that is small by human standards but many times  taller than the mother bird.

Chirping with excitement, or perhaps alarm, the ducklings scuttle around to see if there's another route down to their mother. 

They pause for approximately ten seconds as they prepare to make the biggest jump of their young lives.

The heart-stopping clip, that shows the raft of 10 ducklings taking a literal leap of faith, was recorded near a small waterfall in Romania

With no alternative in sight, the first pair of ducklings take the leap, and more follow. 

The tiny troopers are submerged for seconds before popping up safely and whizzing off to find mother, amid cheers from onlookers.

Five of the more tentative chicks are left remaining atop the waterfall, as they scuttle around looking to find the safest place to jump.

The tiny troopers are submerged for mere seconds before popping up safely and whizzing off to find mother, amid raucous cheers from the crowd

With a little encouragement from their mother, who briefly returns to the top of the waterfall, the remaining chicks decide to take the quickest route down by jumping directly into the flowing stream. 

The crowd clearly loved what they saw, as they started clapping and cheering once the mother's sizeable family all safely rejoined her.

And those watching the video on YouTube also enjoyed the show, with several commenting on the 'sweet' and 'cute' clip.

Betty Forbes asked: 'I don't know which is cuter, the baby ducks or the enthusiastic kids!' 

User LittleLulubee wrote: 'So sweet how the mama went back to encourage the stragglers.' 

William Breeze said: 'Bravo. Glad the little ducks had some faith!'