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Don't believe the hype or should you when it comes to the controversy surrounding the release of hybrid ducks into the wild. Learn about what happens when a wild and domestic duck mate to produce an offspring that ends up at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, just East of San Francisco. This video includes some rotoscopic animation that accompany a sad folk tale song. (An excerpt of ANIMAL CRACKERS produced by KEA Productions).

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HYBRID MALLARD DUCK

It was quite a trip to see all the birds, predators and prey, coexisting in the mews (where the birds stay- falconry term). The keepers perched them at different levels when on exhibit to reduce anxiety levels of the various birds. Most of the birds had been psychologically and physically injured and were considered non-releasable.

The animal I identified with the most was the hybrid mallard duck at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek. Being interracial, I sympathized with the apparently healthy duck that was destined to live a life in captivity due to its mixed genetic heritage. The hybrid mallard duck was part wild mallard duck and part domestic duck. I could not find any conclusive evidence either from my interviews or independent research that proved that the release of the otherwise healthy bird would endanger the health of the other birds or itself, solely because of its hybrid heritage.

The duck had been domesticated, and as with any animal, habituation to people to such an extent would put an animal at risk when trying to survive in the wild because it may not know how to hunt, escape from predators, or attract a mate, etc.

One thing I learned that most people do not realize, is how harmful bread and crackers are to ducks. Many people think they are doing something nice when they share crumbs with ducks at a local pond; however, since ducks are water birds, the bread that they ingest expands in their crop- a storage area part of their digestive system. As they soggy, mouldy bread expands, it blocks good food from being absorbed or digested. As a result, the duck ends up starving. So, DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS!

*If you cannot resist, feed them something more appropriate like wild bird feed which can be purchased from your local pet food store. Shop at PetSmart

This information is the product of my interview with the wildlife keepers, Dawn Stewart and Michele Setter at Lindsay Wildlife Museum and Nikii Finch-Morales at Coyote Point Museum.

Check out these other organziations for more wildlife educational info:

Ducks Unlimited
Human Society
Wikipedia (free encyclyopedia)

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