Durrell’s fight to save ducks out of water

Wednesday 27 August 2014

Durrell’s conservationists are on a mission to help save the world’s rarest bird from dying out in the wild.

The first ever study of the Madagascar pochard has revealed that 96% of its chicks die before fledging and the species won’t survive naturally without conservationists creating a new population in a new wetland.

Durrell began an emergency operation to save the diving ducks from extinction back in 2009 together with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the Peregrine Fund and the Madagascan government.

Today there are just 25 pochards left in the wild living by lakes near Bemanevika – a wetland in northeast Madagascar. It’s thought the ducks were forced out of their favoured habitats when the country’s wetlands were turned over to rice and fish farming. The latest research shows that most pochard chicks are slowly starving to death once they are old enough to dive for food because the water there is too deep for them.

WWT senior research officer Dr Andrew Bamford who led the study published in Bird Conservation International said: “The last refuge of the Madagascar pochard is one of the last unspoilt wetlands in the country, but it’s simply not suited to its needs. Something similar happened in the UK when the lowland red kite became confined to upland Wales, and in Hawaii, where the last Nenes survived only on the upper slopes of volcanoes because introduced predators had occupied their favoured grassland habitats.

“For the species to survive, we need to start another population in a large, shallow wetland. In 2009 the project partners started a conservation breeding programme and now have 54 pochards in captivity. We’ve found wetlands nearby that have potential but they need restoring, so we’re asking the community there if we can work with them to improve the wetlands for their benefit and the pochards at the same time.”

The duck, which was once widespread, was declared extinct in the 1960’s but was rediscovered in remote volcanic wetlands in 2006. Since then the WWT, Durrell and the Peregrine Fund have been studying the remaining birds to learn as much as possible about them.

Durrell’s Felix Razafindrajao who works with them in the field said: “I am so proud to have been involved from the beginning with the collection of the eggs from the wild that laid the foundation for the captive population. Now with a safety net in place, we have been able to focus on this research that helps us understand why the pochard is so rare.

“For me the greatest reward has been working with the local communities and authorities in the Sofia region, who have quickly taken up the fotsimaso (our name for the pochard) as an emblem for both the region and protection of the environment.”

You can find out more about Durrell’s project to save them on their website www.durrell.org