Bitter Cold Winter Puts Ducks In Distress
Thursday, March 5, 2015
DETROIT - This winter's subzero temperatures haven't just been a nuisance for humans. They're killing off ducks because many of their food sources have frozen over.
But experts say all people can and should do is let nature take its course. Holly Vaughn is a wildlife outreach technician with the Department of Natural Resources. She says with the Great Lakes 85 percent covered in ice, migrating ducks such as canvasbacks, long-tailed ducks and redheads that spend part of the winter in Michigan have had to fight for what little open water exists.
"With such a large congregation of ducks in a fairly small area, they're getting through the food supply pretty quickly," she says. "We're seeing some of these ducks washing up on shore or turning up on the ice."
Because ice is highly unstable, Vaughn cautions against trying to venture out to rescue ducks or any other wildlife. She adds, people should not try to feed them, because these ducks typically rely on an aquatic diet of mollusks, clams and small fish.
Vaughn says as difficult as it is to see dead ducks or any kind of wildlife in distress, this is simply part of the balance of nature.
"We should have a great spring and these ducks should be able to reproduce nicely," says Vaughn. "We should not see any negative impacts to the overall duck populations."
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