![]() ![]() The release is just one step in a long-term plan to restore Madagascar’s wetlands. ![]() 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.” Working with local communities to solve the issues which were driving this bird to extinction has been essential to giving the pochard a chance of survival. 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. We have been preparing for this moment for over a decade. WWT’s Head of Conservation Breeding, Nigel Jarrett, 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. 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’s not just a suitable home for the ducks, but better serves the community and the other wildlife that depends on it. Other floating equipment – feeding stations and loafing rafts – have also been specially designed and installed on the lake to give the birds the best possible chance of survival. After successful trials in 2017, the aviaries were shipped from the UK to Madagascar and assembled on Lake Sofia this summer.ĭucklings hatched in October were transported 200 km to the lake along a dirt road and reared in lakeside aviaries, then in early December, just before they were able to fly, moved into the floating aviaries. For this reason, a plan was conceived to convert Scottish salmon-farming cages into the world’s first floating aviaries. Madagascar pochards spend almost all their time on water and, importantly, feed underwater. Faced with an endless set of logistical hurdles, they have had to consistently think outside the box. They may once again be centres of biodiversity while continuing to support communities of people who also depend on them.”Ĭonservationists have been meticulously planning their release since the surprise discovery of a small group of pochards in 2006. The restoration programme at Lake Sofia will encourage others in Madagascar to no longer look at the Island’s wetlands as lost causes. Glyn Young, said: “The idea that we could be releasing pochards into the wild only 12 years after rediscovery pays remarkable testament to the dreams and hard work of many people from Madagascar, Jersey and the UK, who have worked tirelessly to see this remarkable bird get a chance of survival in a changing world. 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.Įxperts 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.ĭurrell’s Head of Birds, Dr. This pioneering approach is to allow the birds to become accustomed to their new surroundings, increasing the chances they will remain at the site after release – the state of wetlands in Madagascar is so poor that they will likely not survive if they leave the lake. Some 21 Madagascar pochards spent a week in the safety of the world’s first floating aviaries on Lake Sofia in the north of the country. A duck thought to be extinct for 15 years has been brought back from the brink and given a new home on a remote lake in Madagascar.
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