NZ shocked as ducks filmed eating puteketeke chicks
New Zealand officials expressed shock after being warned that mallard ducks were preying on the chicks of the Bird of the Century award-winning puteketeke.
The Department of Conservation (DoC) said a concerned citizen sent rangers graphic photographs of three mallard ducks eating newly hatched puteketeke chicks alive next to Lake Alexandrina in the center of New Zealand’s South Island.
DoC Chief Biodiversity ranger Dean Nelson said rangers were horrified and surprised by the images because mallards normally eat plant material and the odd snails or insects during the breeding season.
“We immediately went there and observed three mallard ducks in the outlet stream where the grebe nests were located. They were actively searching the puteketeke nests to see if they had chicks,” Nelson said.
“The adult puteketeke did not perceive the ducks as a threat and therefore did not see the danger.”
The ranger said this behavior was not previously known to Department of Defense experts and he feared it could spread.
“There was a case referenced in a research paper by a University of Cambridge scientist in 2017, describing how a group of mallard ducks in Romania attacked and ate the chicks of two common bird species. The paper claimed that this was a world first and that the ducks may be looking for a protein source before laying eggs and building a nest.”
The ministry said that the three ducks in question were captured and humanely euthanized. Rangers were trying to make sure the behavior wasn’t learned by other mallards.
The New Zealand native puteketeke, also known as the Australasian crested grebe, is a diving bird with shiny cheek folds and a tendency to vomit.
In 2023, it won the Bird of the Century crown after a major campaign by British-American comedian and TV host John Oliver. The campaign included billboards in Paris and Tokyo and an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in a full sunken outfit.
As of 2012, it is estimated that there are fewer than 1,000 puteketeke in New Zealand.
