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The Madagascar pochard, a duck thought to be extinct for 17 years, has been brought back from the brink with 21 released into the wild, on a remote lake in Madagascar, thanks to the combined efforts of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, WWT, and partners.
There are only 25 Madagascar pochard living in the wild due to deforestation, water pollution and climate change, making it the rarest bird on the planet.
21 pochards were recently released after a week, 12 years after it was rediscovered. They spent a week in the safety of the world’s first floating aviaries on Lake Sofia, located in the north of the country. This pioneering approach aimed to give the birds the opportunity to become accustomed to their new surroundings, to increase the chances of them remaining in the area after release. The state of the wetlands in Madagascar is so poor that the pochards will likely not survive if they leave the lake.
Pictured: 21 Madagascar Pochards have just been released.
The ducks were released from the aviaries in December and very quickly adapted to the lake, diving and flying, associating with other wild ducks, and returning to the safety of the floating aviaries to feed and roost.
Experts from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, WWT, The Peregrine Fund and the Government of Madagascar have spent years laying the foundations for the birds’ introduction, working closely with the local communities around Lake Sofia that rely on its water, fish and plants.
Dr. H. Glyn Young, Durrell’s Head of Birds, said that the release, only 12 years after the Pochards were rediscovered, paid a "remarkable testament to the dreams and hard work of many people from Madagascar, Jersey and the UK."
Pictured: The release was the result of teamwork from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, WWT, and partners.
"They have worked tirelessly to see this remarkable bird get a chance of survival in a changing world," he added. "The restoration programme at Lake Sofia will encourage others in Madagascar to no longer look at the island’s wetlands as lost causes. They may once again be centres of biodiversity while continuing to support communities of people who also depend on them.”
Conservationists have been meticulously planning their release since the surprise discovery of a small group of pochards in 2006. Faced with an endless set of logistical hurdles, they had to consistently think outside the box.
Pictured: Scottish salmon-farming cages into the world’s first floating aviaries for the ducklings.
Madagascar pochards spend almost all their time on water and, importantly, feed underwater. For this reason, a plan was conceived to convert Scottish salmon-farming cages into the world’s first floating aviaries. After successful trials in 2017, the aviaries were shipped from the UK to Madagascar and assembled on Lake Sofia this summer.
Other floating equipment, including feeding stations and loafing rafts, were also been specially designed and installed on the lake to give the birds the best possible chance of survival.
Ducklings who hatched in October were transported to the lake along a dirt road and reared in lakeside aviaries. Then in early December, just before they learned how to fly, they were moved into the floating aviaries.
Pictured: The ducklings hatched in October.
With much of the wetlands across northern Madagascar severely degraded due to human encroachment, conservationists have also been working to improve the condition of Lake Sofia so that it can not only be a suitable home for the ducks, but also serve the community better as well as the wildlife that depends on it.
Nigel Jarrett, WWT’s Head of Conservation Breeding, said: “It takes a village to raise a child, so the old African proverb goes, but in this case it has taken a village to raise a duck. We have been preparing for this moment for over a decade. The logistics of working in a remote part of Madagascar – where access to the lakes by vehicle is only possible for three months a year – have been an enormous challenge, requiring us to come up with novel approaches."
Pictured: Lake Sofia, the Madagascar pochard's new home.
Mr Jarrett said it had been essential to work with local communities to solve the issues driving the pochard to extinction and give it a chance of survival. "If we can make this work, it will provide a powerful example not just for of how save the planet’s most threatened species, but how communities can manage an ecosystem to benefit people and wildlife, especially in areas of significant poverty," he said.
The release is part of a long-term plan to restore Madagascar’s wetlands. Durrell, WWT and other partners have been working closely with communities around Lake Sofia for the last few years to improve farming and fishing so that they are more productive while having less impact on the natural environment. At the same time, guidance has been provided to the government, authorities and conservation organisations to help them improve wetland conservation in the country.
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