The Debrecen Zoo welcomed new members of a seriously endangered duck species: the laysan duck arrived in the Great Forest from the Ostrava Zoo in the Czech Republic, the director of the garden told MTI.
A number of special duck species have joined the Debrecen zoo family
Sándor Gergely Nagy indicated that after the quarantine of this year’s young laying hens, he joined the other members of the institution’s richer collection of ducks than ever before, in the company of which visitors can see them in the outer aviary of the African flight.
The lays duck (Anas laysanensis), once found on all parts of the Hawaiian archipelago, now lives exclusively on the island of Laysan on about 350 acres. It flies relatively poorly and rarely swims, walks, or runs. He rests around noon and starts searching for his food in the evening, the expert said, mentioning the duck’s interesting food-gathering method of running through swarms of flies with its beak open.
His voice, reminiscent of a capitalist’s duck, is heard almost only at courtship. Gunners often engage in a fierce battle for the hens; mating takes place in late autumn or early winter and egg-laying take place between April and August. Spawning is done exclusively by the hen.
The small number of naturally occurring ducks in the laysan tern, as well as being severely endangered due to their vulnerability to invasive species and climate change, is on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List and is listed in Appendix I of the Washington Convention (CITES).
It is a real rarity among Hungarian zoos, as we can only meet it in Debrecen – said Sándor Gergely Nagy.
debreceninap.hu
