Laysan Duck | From Rare to Bountiful
Contributing Monkie Sarah Backhouse
Published on January 31, 2008
Filed Under G Living, Nature / Non Human Stories Tags ducks
In an age when species are sadly becoming extinct faster than you can say plum sauce, it’s pleasing to bring news of a regeneration. The Laysan teal, the world’s most endangered duck, has found a new home away from predators and is currently enjoying a population boom.
The Laysan duck used to call Laysan island in Hawaii home — that was until introduced predators like rats and mongoose drove them away. That prompted a joint effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to relocate the Laysan duck “to the rat-free Midway Atoll, located 750 miles away”. After tagging a handful of the ducks with transmitters, Survey and Services trekked the ducks across the oceans to their new home in Midway.
That was three years ago. Today, there are reports that up to 200 ducks are thriving in their new environment. According to Plenty magazine, “with the success of this experiment, the team is now even considering starting a third population on another island”.
It warms the cockles to learn that humankind is actually helping our feathered friends, not harming them.
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