CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES: Madagascar pochard eggs collected from the wild and hatched, known population almost doubles

The Madagascar pochard (Aythya innotata) is one of the rarest birds in the world (pochards are a group of diving ducks). In fact, it was believed to be extinct at one time. However, by chance, an isolated but tiny population was discovered several years before when “the Peregrine Fund, who were scouting for a threatened bird of prey, the Madagascar Harrier, observed 20 adult pochards living on a single lake in northern Madagascar.” Subsequent expeditions failed to locate new populations of the Madagascar pochard. Consequently, the next step was to bring the rare pochard into some type of captive breeding program (especially since—probably due to predation—there’s a high mortality of ducklings in the wild).

As a Returned Peace Corps volunteer from Madagascar, with a passion for waterfowl, the announcement that an international team consisting of the “Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), The Peregrine Fund and the Government of Madagascar,” with the goal of establishing a conservation breeding program for the pochard, was great news to read.

To start the conservation breeding program, eggs were collected from the wild. Consequently, “eight ducklings are now reported to be doing very well, but work continues as the team attempts to secure two more clutches from the wild over the next few weeks.”

Personally, while in Madagascar, I did not spend too much time searching for the Madagascar pochard, because I had other duties. However, when visiting Lake Alaotra—Madagascar’s largest lake and the pochard’s former stronghold—or Torotorofotsy marsh near Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, I looked for the pochard. Obviously, I did not find it, but I did observe Meller’s ducks (Anas melleri) and red-billed teal (Anas erythrorhyncha).

I believe that unknown populations of the Madagascar pochard still exist in poorly explored areas of Madagascar. However, due to another political crisis, Madagascar’s national resources are being illegally pillaged. Consequently, aggressive conservation efforts are needed. However, now that the species is one step closer to being propagated in captivity, its survival is further guaranteed. More from guardian.co.uk:

Conservationists battling to save the world’s rarest duck have managed to almost double the bird’s population in Madagascar in just one month, it was revealed today.

Fewer than 20 Madagascar pochard were believed to be living on just one lake in the wild.

But a last-gasp conservation plan to save the birds has resulted in two broods totalling 17 ducklings being found and raised in captivity.

A third clutch of seven eggs were discovered earlier this week and are being incubated.

If they all hatch successfully the Madagascar pochard population will have more than doubled in the space of a few weeks.

The conservationists are looking after the ducklings in a hotel room due to the last-minute nature of their quest.

. . .

“Despite almost every conceivable obstacle, in just a few short weeks we have almost doubled the world population — albeit that half of them are in a hotel bathroom! It will be a long road to full recovery for the Madagascar pochard, but we have achieved everything we could have hoped for in this first step.”

The critically endangered duck is so rare that it was declared extinct in the late 1990s until scientists found a few of the birds by chance during a trip to Madagascar in 2006.

To stop the beautiful cinnamon-coloured diving duck slipping permanently into extinction a team of bird specialists known as “team pochard” devised a conservation plan that was due to be implemented next year.

They were hoping to collect some of the pochards’ eggs, incubate them and raise the ducklings via a conservation breeding programme.