A duck that for 15 years was considered extinct has been given a new home on a remote lake in Madagascar thanks to British conservationists.
The Madagascar pochard is one of the world’s rarest birds, with a wild population of about 25. It spends almost all its time on water and was thought to be extinct until a small group was discovered in 2006. Conservationists used salmon-farming cages to create floating aviaries to give 21 ducks the best chance of survival on Lake Sofia in northern Madagascar.
Nigel Jarrett, head of conservation breeding at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in Gloucestershire, said: “We have been preparing for this moment for over a decade. If we can make this work, it will provide a powerful example