SEATTLE — Scaly-sided mergansers have hatched at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo for the first time.
The large diving ducks, also known as Chinese mergansers, are very rare in zoos and in the wild. They are endangered, and zoo officials said fewer than 5,000 remain in the wild.
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The ducks are native to eastern Asia and inhabit fast-moving forest streams. Zoo officials said they are named for the scaly pattern on their flanks.
Zoo officials said three species of mergansers can be found in the Pacific Northwest: red-breasted, common and hooded.
Officials said their population is decreasing due to loss of habitat and food sources, illegal hunting, drowning in fishing nets, disturbance from boats during breeding season, pollution, and an emerging threat of high levels of heavy metals in parts of their range.
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“These birds are sensitive and endangered, so we’re taking every precaution necessary to give these ducklings the best start we can,” animal keeper Joanna Klass said in a news release. “By hand-rearing the chicks, we can ensure they are getting all the food they need without having to compete with other larger adult birds that share the wetlands habitat.”
Officials said once the ducklings grow to their adult size, they will be introduced to the other birds in the zoo’s Temperate Wetlands habitat.