In search of the Madagascar pochard: the world's rarest duck - Part 1

by Lance Woolaver, Durrell Madagascar Programme

We’re in search of the world’s rarest duck. Actually we aren’t really, because thanks to the dedicated work of the The Peregrine Fund, we know where it is. But we also know that there is only a handful left. In fact until it was rediscovered by the TPF’s Lily Arison René de Roland in 2006, the duck was thought to have gone extinct.

Sitting on a couple of small lakes some 300 km north of Antananarivo sits fewer than 20 Madagascar pochard. Although once part of an extensive wetland system throughout the central plateau these are now the last remaining unmarred high elevation volcanic lakes of their kind.

Having such a small population, means that even if the number of ducks remains stable, it is incredibly vulnerable to any random event, like a storm, that might wipe them out. Getting this species back to relatively safe numbers is a major priority and it was decided that an in situ captive breeding programme to build up numbers for release onto other lakes was the best way to go. This would be coupled with protection and study of the species in its remaining habitat. A partnership was formed between ourselves, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), The Peregrine Fund (TPF) and Ministry of L’Environement et Forêts (E & F). Each organisation brings complementary and invaluable expertise to the partnership.

With a lot of the general planning complete, the first step was to get the team on the ground to visit the sites and work with local authorities to identify a suitable location for a captive breeding facility, which is no mean feat in rural Madagascar. The villages of Antsohihiy and Bealanana, which are in the same region as the pochard lakes look the best bet as places for the facility to be based. So the mission started there. The following posts provide a diary of our brief field trip to visit the home of this rarest duck.

Day 1 - 20th July 2009
Glyn Young (Durrell), Peter Cranswick (WWT) and Nigel Jarrett (WWT) arrived last night from the U.K. Today we are all meeting with Lily from TPF and with government officials from Eaux et Forets in Antananarivo to discuss the project. It is decided that the mission will include Glyn, Peter, Nigel, Lily, Sam (TPF), Hiari (E & F), Felix Razafindrajao (Durrell Madagascar), our indefatigable drivers Bruno and Iandry, and myself.

Day 2 - 21st July
We left Tana at 0700 and arrived in Antsohihiy 14 hours later. It was sobering to drive for hours and hours across the highland plateau and see nothing but devastation. It is hard to imagine how all the forest could have been cut, and is nearly impossible to picture what the original habitat must have looked like. There still remain tiny remnant patches of native forest in some valleys, palms and emergent hardwoods, and as we drive by it is intriguing to think of the undescribed and critically endangered endemics that could still be holding on in these fragments. To keep ourselves occupied, this team of elite research biologists and program managers plays I Spy for several hours!

Day 3 - 22nd July
Today we met local authorities and looked for potential captive facility sites near Antsohihiy. The local authorities are very hospitable, quiet and well-spoken, unlike our western politicians. They are keen to help and immediately offer to go out with us that very afternoon to look at potential sites. The first site we look at is a beautiful reservoir lake where they have plans to build a memorial park to a former president. We watch a pair of harrier hawks being mobbed by pied crows, and the reservoir is full of waterbirds; Black egrets, herons, grebes, red-billed teal and a mixed flock of 60+ whistling ducks and comb ducks. Access to water would not be a problem here but there is no real location for the construction of a facility. The location also seems isolated in terms of access to electricity or as a site for field staff to live, but is still quite an encouraging start to our search.

Day 4 - 23rd July
Today we were up and out early to continue looking at potential captive facility sites near Antsohihiy.
We stop at a beautiful and fairly pristine wetland near the village of Ampandriankilandy, which translates as the Roost of the Egrets, on the side of the main road to the north of Madagascar. The site is only 10 minutes outside of Antsohihiy and appears quite promising. I climb up on an overlooking ridge and immediately imagine the facility being here. I can picture a visitor’s interpretion centre on this ridge, the captive breeding facility tucked down behind the ridge out of view from the road, and the protection and sustainable use of the wetland across the road. I can see visitors at the centre watching local artisans collecting reeds from the marsh across the road, and then turning around and buying hand-woven baskets, providing direct support to the local villages for protection of the wetland. On a more practical level, the site provides everything we need logistically for a captive facility, proximity to a major town, water, and an old construction site that has already been cleared for our future buildings and ponds. Everything is coming together!