For 15 years a ducks was believed to be extinct, but it now has a chance of life again in Madagascar!
This duck is known as the Madagascar pochard. 21 of them safely stayed in the world's first floating aviaries on Lake Sofia for a week long in the north of the country.
This approach was designed to help the birds adjust to their new surroundings in order to increase their chances of staying at the site after being released. If they decide to leave the remote lake, the wetland state is so poor that they will probably not survive.
The Madagascar pochards were released earlier this month and have adjusted quite well. They are diving, flying, and even making friends with other wild ducks!
Years have been spent layering the foundation to introduce the birds by experts from WWT, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and The Peregrine Fund and the Government of Madagascar.
Their population is only 25 and the head of conservation breeding at the WWT, Nigel Jarrett, said that "If we can make this work, it will provide a powerful example not just for of how save the planet's most threatened species but how communities can manage an ecosystem to benefit people and wildlife, especially in areas of significant poverty."
He also joked that "It takes a village to raise a child, so the old African proverb goes, but in this case it has taken a village to raise a duck."
We're so happy the Madagascar pochards are safe and sound!