A question for the list.
My brother has recently moved into a house in suburban Melbourne (Eltham
North) which has both a pool and a spa. In the past few weeks a pair of
Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) have regularly visited the pool and
sometimes hopped into it. Later they brought four of their young to the
pool and vigorously defended the clutch from cats and humans. In the last
week, however, all ducklings died simultaneously and were either found
floating in the pool or were last seen in the garden.
Does anyone have a suggestion for the birds demise? My thought was that
ducklings weren't able to safely drink the chlorinated water like their
parents. The cat was kept in the house after the ducklings arrived and no
marks were apparent on the duckilings bodies. Ideas please.
Martin
Martin O'Brien
Executive Scientific Officer
Scientific Advisory Committee
Threatened Species Program
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
4/250 Victoria Pde.,
East Melbourne, 3002
Victoria, AUSTRALIA
tel: +61 3 9412 4567
e-mail:
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