Our Meller's ducks are a species that are only found in Madagascar. At first glance they might look like normal Mallard ducks, and many people pass them by without even noticing them. However, they are in fact a separate species. The giveaway signs are the different shape of the beak, and that the males are also brown (in normal Mallard ducks the males are brightly coloured) .
Sadly, it took so long for scientists to confirm that they were a separate species that they had become Endangered, and it is only recently that they have been allocated a breeding programme. We are thrilled to be a part of it, and we are very excited about this latest success.
The perils of taking a photograph at the zoo, however, is that there’s always someone else looking for attention. In this case it was the black-and-white ruffed lemurs, who wanted to know what all the commotion was about. They were fairly certain that I should have been looking at them instead of the boring ducks!
