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Sadly, 11 baby mallard ducklings lost their mother after she was hit by a car last week. Thankfully another driver who saw the horrible accident stopped to try to help the babies, and called the BC SPCA to help scoop them up before they also ran onto the road or into a culvert.
The orphaned ducklings will now spend the spring at Wild ARC and be released in June, as they are too young to be safe on their own as their mother would normally protect them and show them where to find food. The babies require specialized food, and plenty of fresh greens chopped up by Wild ARC volunteers many times a day.
Baby ducks are prone to imprinting and are quite stressed in care, so they are given mirrors and stuffed animals to cuddle with, plus there are visuals barriers on their cage so they don’t see people unless being fed or medically checked on. As they would normally nuzzle with mom for warmth, they also require a heat lamp in their cage to choose when they need a little bit more warmth. They has small pools in their enclosure which get dirty very quickly and are changed several times a day to ensure their downy feathers keep waterproof.
Wild ARC will care for ~100 mallard ducks this year, many of which are orphans or who have been hit by cars themselves. Help keep these little ones safe and healthy.