Whats your favorite species of duck?
- Thread starter CheeseChameleon1945
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Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Yes I saw the species at two of the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust sites (Arundel & London).
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Thanks for your reply Tim.
When I'm next in the UK I think I'll have to visit WWT.
I've never seen one of these and would like to in the future, do you know if WWT still hold these ?
Sadly the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust no longer hold blue ducks; I don't believe there are any of the species outside New Zealand now.
However, I would still thoroughly recommend a visit to the WWT next time you're in the UK.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
That is such a shame, would have liked to have seen these.
Yes, I will definitely be paying a visit there in the future.
The last one was one of two males held at Arundel WWT, but that has been gone sometime now too. I did see that one but have seen them in NZ too- both captive and in the wild...
Julian
New Member
The only Madagascar pochards in captivity are kept at a Madagascan breeding centre that is run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Bernier’s teals are kept by more than fifty European zoos. The species is also successfully kept and bred in private collections.
Laysan teals are kept by more than thirty European zoos. It is a common species in private collections and is also used by aviculturists for the incubation of eggs of other waterfowl species. Research is currently being conducted on the genetic purity of the captive population.
Meller’s ducks are kept by more than twenty European zoos. In private collections it is also an uncommon species due little interest in the species.
There are currently no New Zealand Blue ducks being kept in captivity outside of New Zealand. The captive population has been established by the Whio Forever Project.
Philippine ducks are kept by more than forty European zoos. Similar to the Meller’s duck, it is an uncommon species in private collections due little interest in the species.
Salvadori’s teals are currently not being kept in captivity anywhere.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Hey @Julian thank you for your comment !
This is very interesting stuff , Much appreciated !
When you say the WWT breeding centre is this in Madagascar or in the UK ? I know that they have at least a couple of Malagasy duck species at WWT so I'm a little confused about that.
It is a shame about the lack of interest in the Malagasy, Laysan and Phillippine species, why do you think this is ?
Is it because these are just "little brown jobs" that most zoos feel lack charisma ?
I just feel it is a shame because I'm sure many of these species could be maintained and bred by zoos without too much effort or resources at all.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
It seems quite odd that they only brought in males to WWT, why wouldn't they have tried to establish breeding pairs there ?
The Pochard are kept in Madagascar. And yes, the other species are brown jobs that do not attract public attention.
WWT didn't only bring in male New Zealand blue ducks, there were females too and the species successfully bred at Arundel (for the first time in the UK in 1988). The two males "Pertinax" refers to were the last two survivors of a larger group.
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Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Ah I see, it seemed a bit odd to me that there wouldn't have been females of the species there too.
Do you think it likely that there would be attempts to establish the species again at WWT ?
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
But to be honest do the public ever really find ducks and even the more colourful species very attractive species in zoos ?
I would say that sadly for many people they are just ducks and nothing more.
I have to admit (bit ashamed of it really) that I wasn't particularly interested in Anseriformes either until fairly recently through my reading either.
* In my defense I've always recognized the importance of wetlands for their ecosystem services and I've always rooted for the conservation of waterfowl because I'm a conservationist but I just never was particularly interested in ducks until fairly recently as a result of reading.
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The WWT's policy for many years has been to import eggs from wild nests, rather than taking birds from the wild. This gives the adult birds a chance to renest and rear young, as they would if the first clutch were taken by a predator. Slimbridge and the other centres have experienced staff and facilities for hand-rearing ducklings and goslings. However they cannot control the sex ratio of the hatchlings. Skewed sex ratios are a real problem with many rare species (not just waterfowl) when only a small number of specimens are held in collections.
If I recall correctly, @Chlidonias commented in a previous thread that the New Zealand government would be unlikely to agree to the export of blue ducks or their eggs in the foreseeable future, but of course that position might change if circumstances change.
Plus the ducklings raised are far more likely to breed in captivity than wildcaught adults.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Thank you for your comment @gentle lemur ! Very interesting indeed !
Yes, I agree, it does make much more sense to harvest eggs from the wild rather than individuals (reminds me somewhat of what has been done successfully with crocodile farming) but as you highlight it is not without its difficulties such as skewed sex ratios.
Well the position of New Zealand is quite disappointing but I do understand it and whatsmore they seem to be really good at managing the species and its conservation ex-situ and in-situ.
I can quite understand the stance of the NZ government in that there isn't any urgent need for these birds to be kept in captivity outside of their natural range and so it isn't a priority.
There are introduced populations in California and Utah.