Endangered duck rescued

In a touching display of conservation on World Mother Earth Day, volunteers successfully rescued a trapped white-headed duck in Salar de los Canos de Vera.

On Monday, April 24, the male duck, identified as an endangered species, was found caught in a lamination work designed to prevent flooding. The alarm was raised by a local amateur photographer on the previous day.

David Mahiques Rodriguez, a member of the Asociacion Salvemos el Salar de los Canos, explained to Diario de Almeria, that white-headed ducks are ‘diving ducks with their legs slightly displaced backwards to facilitate their movements’, meaning they need plenty of room to be able to take off.

Despite initial hopes for the bird’s natural escape, it remained trapped, prompting a rescue operation.

Along with help from a colleague, Rodriguez descended approximately five meters to reach the duck, which ‘let itself be caught very easily, as if it knew we were going to help it because it stood in a corner and let itself be rescued quickly without making a fuss’.

Following the rescue, the bird was released into a safer part of the same territory, ensuring its continued survival in the wild.