It’s not uncommon to hear stories of incredible animal resilience and sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ in the ꜰᴀᴄᴇ of ᴀᴅᴠᴇʀsɪᴛʏ. However, few stories are as astonishing as that of a mallard duck that managed to sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ for three months with an arrow ʟᴏᴅɢᴇᴅ in its ʜᴇᴀᴅ.
An arrow sʜᴏᴛ ʜɪᴛ the mallard from a ᴄʀᴏssʙᴏᴡon the Radbuza river, 𝙋𝙞𝙡𝙨𝙚𝙣 city, 𝘾𝙯𝙚𝙘𝙝, Standard on July 17 reported. The organization DESOP Plzen first try to ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ it in April but failed. After that, the animal repeatedly ʀᴀɴ ᴀᴡᴀʏ from rescuers.
Rescuers Successfully ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴜʀᴇᴅ And ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ The Mallard After Several Attempts To ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇ
“Today, we succeeded by taking advantage of the time when the mallard ᴍᴏʟᴛs. It won’t be able to fly until new ꜰᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀs grow,” said Karel Makon, head of DESOP Plzen. Makon stood on the shore ʜᴏʟᴅɪɴɢ the ɴᴇᴛ while the other two officers kayaked to the river to ᴅɪsᴛʀᴀᴄᴛ it. When the time came, he ᴄᴀsᴛ a ɴᴇᴛ to ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ the animal.
They brought the mallard to a local veterinarian’s clinic to ʀᴇᴍᴏᴠᴇ the arrow, and then released it back into the river. Makon thinks it is highly likely to be the target of 𝙥𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. “The arrow has a fishing line ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄʜᴇᴅ. This appears to be a ʜᴜɴᴛ, but we still lack ᴇᴠɪᴅᴇɴᴄᴇ. The duck could also be the 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢 of 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚,” he said. The local police are looking for the 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙩.
The Story Of The Mallard’s Sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ Is A Testament To The Resilience And Adaptability Of Wild Animals
The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) are omnivores in 𝘼𝙨𝙞𝙖, 𝙀𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚 and North 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖. According to National Geographic, they are considered the most widely distributed and numerous duck species.
In the wild, their ʟɪꜰᴇsᴘᴀɴ is about 5-10 years. Adults are 50-66 cm long and weigh 0.9-1.5 kg.The mallard are said to be the ᴀɴᴄᴇsᴛᴏʀs of all domestic duck breeds
The mallard diet includes invertebrates, amphibians, fish, and many aquatic plants. In addition, they also eat many terrestrial plants and grains.
The female lays 8 to 13 creamy white to greenish-buff spotless eggs, on alternate days. Iɴᴄᴜʙᴀᴛɪᴏɴ takes 27 to 28 days and ꜰʟᴇᴅɢɪɴɢ takes 50 to 60 days. The ducklings are precocial and fully capable of swimming as soon as they hatch.