UW News

July 24, 2008

What happened to the ducks?

The whole campus has been quacking over the duck family that was featured on the cover of the last issue of University Week. It seems that the nine ducklings in the photo, and some others, were scooped up from Frosh Pond, where they had been swimming lately, and taken away without their mothers. Why did this happen, people wanted to know, and where did the ducklings go?

According to Denis Sapiro, UW manager of occupational health & safety, it all started when someone placed the ducklings, which had been nesting nearby, in the pond. They were too young to fly in, and once in, could not fly out as the adult ducks could, so a ramp was placed on the side of the pond to help them.

However, the University is bound by regulations from Washington State Fish & Wildlife, which has stated that ducks should not be permitted in the pond because it is not proper habitat.

“They do not want anything connected with the fountain to attract or help retain waterfowl,” Sapiro said.

So Environmental Health & Safety and Facilities Services made a plan to remove the ducks and take them to a proper habitat. The adult ducks and ducklings were to be captured using a net and escorted to open water near campus.

Unfortunately, the plan went awry. “A crowd formed, and that made the ducks and ducklings nervous and more excited,” Sapiro said. “The ducklings were removed from the fountain, but the adult ducks could not be captured and left the area.”

The private contractor that the University had hired to remove the ducks was then instructed to take the ducklings to the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) shelter to be raised until they were old enough to be released or until the adult ducks could be captured and reunited with their offspring. If the adults could be captured, the whole group was to be released at a safe waterway near campus.

But that plan seems to have gone awry too.

“Our current understanding is that the contractor stated that the ducklings were delivered to PAWS, but that PAWS stated they did not receive the ducklings,” Sapiro said.

Since the ducks’ removal, another adult duck with two ducklings has appeared in the pond, and a ramp is once again in place. Facilities Services and EH&S are reviewing the University’s protocols for handling live animals and are planning to develop a policy to avoid any future confusion.