A Fowl Story
I feel sick. Not ::cough cough:: sick, but emotionally sick. And it's all over a duck.
One of the selling points for the apartment complex JR and I live it is that every apartment has a view of a pond from their deck or balcony. There are two of these ponds, and while they're not huge, they are fairly deep and pretty to look at.
When JR first moved in last year we noticed a group of ducks that seemed to "live" in the pond. There were six of them, three males and three females. They would disappear for a few days every now and then, but were basically around for the entire winter.
Once the weather warmed up we noticed that our pond attracted several groups of waterfowl including geese and even a pelican or two. But mostly it was ducks. At one point this summer we counted over forty ducks swimming around. People used to feed them but after a memo from the apartment complex they stopped.
But getting back to why I feel so bad. Sometime in late spring we noticed that one duck was different from the others. He had a mangled wing. Meaning he couldn't fly. We have no idea how he go the injury, but my theory is that he was clipped by a car.
I don't know if he was part of the original group or one of their babies. I do know that socially he's an outcast. I also know that animals don't think like humans, but every time I see one of the other males chasing him away I felt bad for him. He seems so incredibly lonely.
More so now that the temperature has dropped and rarely do we see other ducks besides him out there. Last night the pond started to freeze over and I know it won't be long before he wocan't swim in the water at all. As far as food goes that could be a problem too, since the ducks eat whatever plant life grows just under the surface.
The bigger problem is that I suspect before winter is out he will BE the food. Amongst all the water fowl, out apartment complex also seems to have an interesting mix of mammals. We have squirrels (the ducks are always chasing them up trees,) and raccoons (scare the crap out of me every time I take out the trash,) possibly a beaver (two sightings and we can't figure out what animal is swimming around in the water,) and of course the fox.
That's right, a fox (forget about the beaver boys.) We first spotted him this spring hanging around the dumpster. He terrified me for a few moments since he showed no fear of us and actually took a step towards JR. I had thought foxes were tiny, but really they're more like a medium sized dog. After that night I saw him three more times, once I even saw him chasing the ducks into the pond.
But that was months ago and I figured he'd moved on by now. Imagine my shock when I stepped outside yesterday and saw a standoff. Just below my third floor balcony stood the fox. And ten feet away in the water was the deformed duck. Luckily my presence was enough to send the predator packing.
However, the fox sighting racketed up my anxiety level concerning "our" duck. Not only am I worried about him freezing or starving to death, now I've gotta stress about him becoming a midnight snack for a dumpster-diving fox.
My parents think I'm too soft hearted and should just let nature work the way it's intended. And I totally understand that, but I still feel awful. Once I ran over a family of raccoons with my car(it was unavoidable) and I cried for at least twenty miles.
I've watched the antics of this duck for months, and in a strange way I identify with him as the underdog. JR thinks we should adopt him and let him live with us like the guys did on "Friends." I'm vetoing that choice since besides our complex's "no pet" policy, I'm not willing to clean up duck-poop.
The other option is to call animal control or the zoo, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't rescue a duck. I've called about injured animals before (a bloody and limping possum in our station parking lot) and gotten no response. Even if they did come out and catch the bird, they'd probably put it to sleep anyway.
So all I can do is wait. Wait for the day when I don't see "our" duck alive and bobbing in the water. It'll break my heart =(
One of the selling points for the apartment complex JR and I live it is that every apartment has a view of a pond from their deck or balcony. There are two of these ponds, and while they're not huge, they are fairly deep and pretty to look at.
When JR first moved in last year we noticed a group of ducks that seemed to "live" in the pond. There were six of them, three males and three females. They would disappear for a few days every now and then, but were basically around for the entire winter.
Once the weather warmed up we noticed that our pond attracted several groups of waterfowl including geese and even a pelican or two. But mostly it was ducks. At one point this summer we counted over forty ducks swimming around. People used to feed them but after a memo from the apartment complex they stopped.
But getting back to why I feel so bad. Sometime in late spring we noticed that one duck was different from the others. He had a mangled wing. Meaning he couldn't fly. We have no idea how he go the injury, but my theory is that he was clipped by a car.
I don't know if he was part of the original group or one of their babies. I do know that socially he's an outcast. I also know that animals don't think like humans, but every time I see one of the other males chasing him away I felt bad for him. He seems so incredibly lonely.
More so now that the temperature has dropped and rarely do we see other ducks besides him out there. Last night the pond started to freeze over and I know it won't be long before he wocan't swim in the water at all. As far as food goes that could be a problem too, since the ducks eat whatever plant life grows just under the surface.
The bigger problem is that I suspect before winter is out he will BE the food. Amongst all the water fowl, out apartment complex also seems to have an interesting mix of mammals. We have squirrels (the ducks are always chasing them up trees,) and raccoons (scare the crap out of me every time I take out the trash,) possibly a beaver (two sightings and we can't figure out what animal is swimming around in the water,) and of course the fox.
That's right, a fox (forget about the beaver boys.) We first spotted him this spring hanging around the dumpster. He terrified me for a few moments since he showed no fear of us and actually took a step towards JR. I had thought foxes were tiny, but really they're more like a medium sized dog. After that night I saw him three more times, once I even saw him chasing the ducks into the pond.
But that was months ago and I figured he'd moved on by now. Imagine my shock when I stepped outside yesterday and saw a standoff. Just below my third floor balcony stood the fox. And ten feet away in the water was the deformed duck. Luckily my presence was enough to send the predator packing.
However, the fox sighting racketed up my anxiety level concerning "our" duck. Not only am I worried about him freezing or starving to death, now I've gotta stress about him becoming a midnight snack for a dumpster-diving fox.
My parents think I'm too soft hearted and should just let nature work the way it's intended. And I totally understand that, but I still feel awful. Once I ran over a family of raccoons with my car(it was unavoidable) and I cried for at least twenty miles.
I've watched the antics of this duck for months, and in a strange way I identify with him as the underdog. JR thinks we should adopt him and let him live with us like the guys did on "Friends." I'm vetoing that choice since besides our complex's "no pet" policy, I'm not willing to clean up duck-poop.
The other option is to call animal control or the zoo, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't rescue a duck. I've called about injured animals before (a bloody and limping possum in our station parking lot) and gotten no response. Even if they did come out and catch the bird, they'd probably put it to sleep anyway.
So all I can do is wait. Wait for the day when I don't see "our" duck alive and bobbing in the water. It'll break my heart =(
posted by SassyJill at 10:10 PM
3 Comments:
This is a touching story. I dont know if your apartment people will allow it but maybe you can give the duck a shelter during the winter and let him go when the water gets warmer. Alternately, you can put the duck in your car and transport it to a safer pond. I dont know. I feel for the duck too. you could also try to get some info from a vet or animal control on what your options are, even if they dont come to rescue the duck themselves. JR could shoot the fox with his new BB gun too. Sad story.
Nature is cruel.
Is there no animal rescue facility near?
Wait, you asked Dad for advice on this? Are you crazy?
Oh, but how sad! It seems like every time I am out with my friend the Puppet Master we find some sort of animal in need of rescue. I can't tell you have many times we've stopped to carry a turtle off the road and into safety - I swear we've done it 10 times now. And then there was the tiny kitten... And that time he found dead seals just randomly laying on the side of the road (his theory was that someone had them in the back of their truck and heaved them out while driving down the road -- I dunno...) Anyway, after undertaking several animal rescue efforts with my friend I will say this -- while it is nice to rescue a helpless animal you can only save them for so long. But, yeah, if I were you I would totally try. Lemme think on it. I'll let you know if I come up with any brilliant ideas. Perhaps I'll consult the Puppet Master as well. He always seems to know what to do in these sorts of situations.
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