The VINS Wildlife Services department needs your help! We have a female mallard in our care who is ready to return to the wild. Problem is, we don’t want to send her off on her own!
Do you know of any mallard populations in Vermont’s Upper Valley, or within a 1/2-hour drive of Quechee? We’d like to get this gal a posse to hang with, as ducks are social animals and we do not feel she’d fend well on her own. Returning her to where she was found is not an option, so we’re putting feelers out to see if anyone has the scoop on local ducks.
This mallard made a complete turnaround from when she was first brought into our care weak, emaciated and on death’s door. We discovered the poor girl had swallowed a lead sinker (from a fishing line) and was suffering from lead poisoning. We got the sinker out, got the lead out, have fattened her up, and she’s now eager to return to the wild.
If you have mallard ducks frequenting your local river or lake, please let us know — we’d like to get get our gal in with your group. You can reach the Wildlife Services department at (802) 359-5000, ext. 212, or email me, Meghan Oliver, at moliver@vinsweb.org. Thank you for your help!
January 6, 2011 – After more than a month of rehabilitation, our female mallard recovered from lead poisoning and was released into the wild. View our latest entry – Lucky Duck!