What's killing the ducks?
The sick ducks started showing up in Swansboro at the end of July. Police found ten dead ducks and ten sick ones July 26 in a downtown shopping area. The ducks were weak; some of them couldn’t walk, others had respiratory problems. All of them were weak.
The ducks are Muscovies – a breed of white-and-white waterfowl originating in Brazil. What sets them apart is the bright red crest around their eyes and above their beak.
Some people fear the ducks have been poisoned because there have been complaints about them recently, especially about the mess they make on downtown sidewalks. There are actually people who prefer their encounters with nature to be sanitized. Happily, nature refuses to comply.
The state Department of Agriculture has collected tissue samples from the dead ducks and is running tests to try to determine what’s killing them.
One possibility is that the ducks have avian botulism, an ailment common in areas where there are large numbers of waterfowl, especially in warm weather with little rainfall when oxygen levels in water are low.
This is what happens:
An animal dies, and flies lay eggs on its carcass. The botulism toxin is concentrated in the maggots that feed on the dead animals. More ducks eat the maggots and become ill and die, producing more carcasses for maggots.
Until they know what’s making the birds ill, wildlife rehabilitators are doing what they can to help them.
Toni O’Neil, who operates Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary in Hubert, received three adults and 24 ducklings on Sunday. Four ducklings had to be euthanized.
“I think having to put down the baby ducks is one of the hardest things I ever have to do,” O’Neil said.
All you can do is tell yourself that at least they’re not suffering.