The ducks have landed.
At least 25 black ducks were found in and around the communities of Waskaganish and Waswanipi October 26. And contrary to rumours making the rounds of the community, bird flu had nothing to do with it.
“I was on patrol around the community at 11:30 pm when I happened to see these two community members and they informed me there was a duck on the sidewalk,” said Waswanipi police officer Andrew Murdoch. “The duck was sitting on the side and I caught him.”
Murdoch said the police then received many other calls about more ducks. “That evening we collected 25 black ducks all over the community,” he said.
Officer Murdoch said neither he nor anyone else in the community had ever seen anything like it.
Conservation officers solved the mystery. Because of the freezing rain that night, they explained, the ducks’ wings were frozen and they couldn’t fly.
“We brought them to the police station and kept them here the whole night,” said Officer Murdoch, a new hero to the local duck population.
Three ducks died, however, and Officer Murdoch suspects they perished from the extreme fright at being detained in the Waswanipi jail for the evening.
Again, contrary to rumours, there was no duck feast at the station that night.
