Daring duck rescue by Durrell

The team braved storms, illness and broken bridges

Conservationists from Jersey braved storms, illness and broken bridges to save a species of duck which was thought to have died out in the wild.

Efforts by the Durrell wildlife trust to save the Madagascar Pochard have been described as being at the cutting edge of conservation.

The dark brown diving duck was previously thought to have died out.

That was until scientists found 20 adult ducks living on a lake in northern Madagascar.

Conservationists from Jersey's Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust joined other wildlife groups to set up a breeding programme for the ducks - with the hope of reintroducing them to their wetland habitats .

During a visit to the site the scientists realised the picture was worse than first thought - as just six females were found - with evidence young had died at just a few weeks old.

The eggs were taken to a rearing facility to be hatched

The team described a race against time, during storms and delays and illness among the team to remove a batch of eggs to a nearby rearing facility before they hatched.

Eight ducklings are reported to be doing well, and the work continues to bring two more clutches from the wild over the next few weeks.

The World Wildlife Trust has described efforts to save the duck as the first important step to saving the rare species from extinction.

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