Much of the following article is based on information from Dr Glyn Young of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, who has been extremely generous both with his information and time. Our thanks go to him.

In 2006 the Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata - one of the world’s rarest birds - was listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct).

Historically confined to the Lake Alaotra basin in Madagascar’s northern central plateau the species had been formerly considered relatively common, but it declined dramatically through the 1940s and 1950s. Until the 1990s the last certain record was in 1960, with just one unconfirmed sighting near Antananarivo, the country’s capital city, in 1970 and several other possible records. In August 1991 though a male was captured on Lake Alaotra: it was kept in Antananarivo until its death one year later.

Intensive searches (including major publicity campaigns) at Alaotra during 1989-1990 and 1993-1994 failed to discover more Madagascar Pochards. With the species being considered sedentary and much of its known wetland habitat throughout the central plateau converted to agriculture (Lake Alaotra, one of very few unconverted central plateau wetlands, has come under considerable and increasing pressure: the area is one of Madagascar’s major rice producers, with 250 km2 of the 350 km2 surrounding the lake converted to rice cultivation already) it seemed highly likely that the Madagascar Pochard had gone the way of the Labrador Duck (last seen in 1878) and the Auckland Islands Merganser (the last pair were shot in 1902).

Remarkably though in November 2006 two scientists from The Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar Project (TPF), National Director Lily-Arison Rene de Roland and field biologist Thé Seing Sam, made an unexpected discovery while surveying for the Vulnerable Madagascar Harrier Circus macrosceles in the north of the island: nine adult Madagascar Pochards with four young - 330 km north of the last known site!

Further survey work by Rene de Roland, Sam, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Durrell) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) failed to find other ‘lost’ flocks hidden away on other lakes. The global population of the world’s rarest duck was put at nineteen individuals, of which just six were females - all confined to one or two pristine volcanic lakes (surrounded, incidentally, by primary rainforest).

‘Pochard lake’. Photo copyright Peter Cranswick, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

Durrell Wildlife Trust’s Lance Woolaver (part of Durrell’s Madagascar Project team) described just how precarious a situation the Madagascar Pochard was in on the Durrell Wildlife Conservation blog in August of this year, saying, “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…”.

Discussions on how to conserve such a tiny population were immediately begun, with the emphasis being on how best to make sure that a ‘random event’ could not wipe out the recently re-discovered birds sending the species into certain extinction. A major priority was to build the species back to relatively safe numbers, and it was decided that an in situ captive breeding programme to build up numbers for release onto other lakes would be the best way forward.

Suitable, undisturbed lakes which provided the required environment therefore needed to be found, and protocols developed for collecting pochard eggs, transporting them to a suitable rearing facility, and protecting the ducklings once they had been released needed to be developed - and all this was to be achieved in a remote area of Madagascar with little existing infrastructure.

Partnerships also had to be set up with other conservation organisations that could bring on board different skill sets (itself not an easy task), but a remarkable partnership WAS formed and in mid-July 2009 Glyn Young (Durrell), Peter Cranswick and Nigel Jarrett (WWT) flew to Madagascar from the UK and joined Lance Woolaver, Lily-Arison Rene de Roland, and government officials from Eaux et Forets in Antananarivo to discuss the project.

Photo copyright Peter Cranswick/WWT

The urgency of the work to be done was underlined by the news that though young had hatched from a number of nests in 2008, none had survived to adulthood! Whilst it was still unclear what had caused the loss - theories ranged from predation by Madagascar Harriers (themselves a threatened species of course) to the outnumbered females being so badly harassed by males that they are unable to care properly for their young - it was clear that without protecting 2009’s ducklings there would be no growth in the population whatsoever.

During the July trip the team of scientists began building up the required infrastructure, making ‘dry-runs’ from the lake to the rearing facility they set up, and finalising lists of what equipment they would need when (hopefully) they would be collecting the eggs the following October. It’s right to note here also that a grant from the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa helped pay travel costs, expenses, and equipment that would be (and is being) used to rear the ducklings.

The work (and the team-building) evidently went extremely well, and Durrell’s Lance Woolaver, again blogging from Madagascar wrote that, “…amongst our partnership, we have the ability to save the Madagascar Pochard from extinction, now it is just a matter of getting it done together.”

Glyn Young (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) and Lily-Arison Rene de Roland (The Peregrine Fund)
surveying in sunny Madagascar, Dec 2006

The truth of that last statement was borne out in October, when the planning and joint efforts came to fruition.

Durrell’s Dr Glyn Young takes up the story:

“I have been in Madagascar again for the last couple of weeks with WWT’s Nigel Jarrett and Mark (Sparky) Roberts to start our Madagascar pochard project. This species which was thought to have gone extinct in the 1990s and rediscovered by The Peregrine Fund in 2006, has a total population of about 20 ducks all located on a small lake complex in the north of Madagascar. This tiny number of ducks is highly vulnerable to any environmental change that may come and completely wipe out the last remaining population.

During a reconnaissance visit in July it was clear that the situation was more critical than at first feared (a summary of that trip can be found at http://blog.durrell.org/index.cfm/Madagascar). Just six females were seen then, and all of the young that they had hatched in 2008 had died within a few weeks.

It was clear that emergency action was needed. So in October 2009, I headed back out to Madagascar with Nigel and Sparky to bring some hatching eggs into captivity and start a conservation breeding programme. Kassidi (duck finder extraordinaire from our Madagascar office) and TPF’s Toulou had been installed at the lake to watch the females and record when eggs were laid and when incubation started. Kassidi sent out regular updates (after climbing the nearby ridge to get very patchy cellphone coverage) and we were able to plot the news on a calendar and judge exactly when eggs would hatch and, therefore, when we would need to collect them.

From there on it was safe to say that it was quite an ordeal and a race against time.

The team from the UK were hit by a number of delays. First electrical storms stopped us getting into the island for a couple of days as we were routed back to Nairobi (where we did receive accommodation in a 5* hotel and I ticked white rhino!), then roadworks on the only bridge with access to the north of the Island caused another three days of delays and finally once the team got there we started succumbing to various illnesses (including swine flu) – making us quite a sorry bunch indeed.

However, we arrived just in time. Arriving at night we set up our own tents and a much larger one for incubators etc during the following morning. We got our first views of the wonderful lake and the pochards at dawn (and watched nesting Madagascar Harriers hunting the lake edge). The nest we were after first was due on this first day and with extreme trepidation, and in full view of local village dignitaries, we canoed into the marsh and collected the clutch (nine eggs). The eggs were spot on and ready to hatch. Moved to the big tent, the eggs started to hatch before our eyes.

Photo copyright Glyn Young, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

A total of eight chicks hatched and now it was time to get them to a temporary rearing facility that was being hastily constructed at a nearby hotel! We then spent a grueling and very slow (it took eight hours!) drive on rough mountain track to get onto the main road to the hotel and arriving late in the evening were able to transfer the ducklings to their imported holding facility (tanks were shipped out from UK). The tiny, very calm ducklings got their first wash and drink from a sandwich box by the side of the road. They could not have been easier to transport and our fears about their willingness to travel long bumpy roads were unnecessary. However, if the rains had started…!

This is really a huge accomplishment given that the total global population is only 20 ducks. We have now got eight ducklings that will be reared with extreme care and attention. There are also a further two clutches that we will hopefully add. But this is only the beginning and this will be a long term project for Durrell, WWT and The Peregrine Fund over the next coming years to build up a healthy captive population, identify areas for release, and to manage and protect these key habitats for the species. We will provide regular updates from the project on the blog. http://blog.durrell.org.

Photo copyright Glyn Young, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

As Glyn notes, this really is a remarkable turnaround for a species that just three years ago was considered likely extinct. From a chance discovery on a remote lake, a team of experts had come together and now held eight offspring of the world’s rarest duck in their (safe) hands!

Peter Cranswick (WWT) describes the significance of this achievement thus: “This is conservation at the cutting edge. The urgency of the situation has meant a great deal of invention and improvisation - but next year simply may have been too late. Safely bringing birds into captivity marks the start of a 20- or 30-year conservation project that will also help restore wetlands across the region.” Russell Thorstrom, a biologist in charge of The Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar program, confirms the spirit with which the team worked saying that, “This is the first important step toward saving this rare species from extinction. It shows how organizations working cooperatively can overcome challenges and continue onward in their conservation effort for this critically endangered duck.”

This is an uplifting story, especially coming so recently after the IUCN’s report that more species than ever are facing extinction. 10,000 Birds will continue to follow further developments - and let’s just hope that the entire human race can show such a spirit of co-operation and work together on saving the world’s threatened wildlife over the coming years…

STOP PRESS: 13 Nov 09

Doubling the World’s population of rare duck

Following the success of the first efforts to bring Madagascar pochard chicks into a conservation breeding programme, we can now report that the joint, Durrell, WWT and Peregrine Fund, team have successfully brought in two more clutches.

Two nests had eggs that were approaching readiness to hatch, but with the weather starting to close in and rains beginning, the team had to make a decision how to proceed. The first clutch of nine eggs was about to hatch and these were put into incubators by the side of the lake to hatch fully. The second clutch of seven eggs still have about a week to fully develop and should hatch fairly soon. Not wanting to become stuck at the lake during the rains, the team carefully moved the 9 hatched chicks and the 7 eggs to the temporary holding facility we have established in a nearby town.

All chicks and eggs made the journey safely we can now say that we have 17 healthy chicks currently swimming in temporary ponds and 7 eggs about to hatch. This stunning success has effectively doubled the world’s population of this critically endangered duck. The first group of 8 chicks are also developing very well and within two weeks are already four times their hatching weight. The next step now is to build a specially designed breeding facility to manage this captive population into the future.

The race against time to save the Madagascar pochard from extinction is well on the road to success.

WWT’s ‘Team Pochard’ in Madagascar, along with colleagues from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and The Peregrine Fund look set to achieve the incredible - doubling the population of the Critically Endangered Madagascar pochard in just one month!

The emergency rescue mission, mounted after a reconnaissance visit in July revealed the situation was worse than feared (discovery of just six females and evidence that chicks from 2008 had died at just a few weeks old), hatched the first eight precious ducklings two weeks ago.

This week (Wednesday) a second clutch of eight more chicks hatched and were taken on the perilous journey by road to transfer them the makeshift rearing facility hurriedly set up by the team in a hotel. A ninth egg then hatched just as the team reached the safety of the hotel.

Amazingly, a third clutch of seven eggs has also been collected but, although they are not due to hatch for another week, they are also being moved now for fear that the rapidly setting in rainy season will make the road impassable until spring.

This is the start of a major project to prevent the extinction of the species. A conservation-breeding programme will, in time, reintroduce birds to wetland sites in the species’ former range, and will work with local communities to protect the remaining site.

STOP PRESS: 25 Nov 09

And then there were 24!

More truly excellent news from the researchers working on saving the Madagascar Pochard - this time on the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Pochard Team blog. The first line of the WWTPT’s post runs: “A short text from Owen this evening says it all: “100% hatch just complete. Massive grins.” Congratulations to all involved!

For more information go to:

• BirdLife International: Madagascar Pochard
• Fotsy Mas: the pochard mission gets underway
• Plan to save world’s rarest duck successfully hatched
• Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Pochard Team blog.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust:
Gerald Durrell started out with a vision to create a stationary ark, a reservoir in which animals in need of protection could be kept and bred. Today, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, headquartered in Jersey, has made a difference to more than 30 endangered species worldwide, and continues to maintain a record unparalleled by any organisation of its size.

Website: http://www.durrell.org

The Peregrine Fund:
Established in 1970, The Peregrine Fund works nationally and internationally, to conserve birds of prey in nature. We conserve nature by achieving results - results restoring species in jeopardy, conserving habitat, educating students, training conservationists, providing factual information to the public, and by accomplishing good science.

Website: http://www.peregrinefund.org

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust:
Founded in 1946 by Sir Peter Scott, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) is the only UK charity with a national network of nine specialist wetland visitor centres. With over 60 years experience of wetland conservation, WWT is committed to the protection of wetlands and all that depend on them for survival.

Website: http://www.wwt.org.uk/

This post has been written as part of our commitment to supporting projects on Critically Endangered/Endangered birds and to Birdlife International’s ‘Preventing Extinctions Programme‘, which we signed up to as Species Champions in January 2009.

Species Champions are ”a growing community of Companies, Institutions and Individuals who share our concerns and demonstrate their commitment to protecting the planet’s natural heritage by funding the work undertaken by our Species Guardians”.

There are different ‘levels’ of Species Champion (requiring different levels of financial commitment). Whilst we joined the PEP at a ‘lower level’ 10,000 Birds is now officially a Species Champion along with such conservation giants as Sir David Attenborough and the British Birdwatching Fair, conservation minded businesses like Swarovski Optik (who also sponsor 10,000 Birds of course), In Focus, and WildSounds (the Species Champions for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper), and a small number of unsung individuals like Dr. Urs-Peter Stäuble, Ed Keeble, and Peter Smith.

• For a full list of Species Champions please go to BirdLife Species Champions ‘Roll of Honour’.