The rarest ducklings in the world, the Madagascan Pochard, were hatched in captivity in 2009 after being rescued from their habitat. Keepers at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust incubated the eggs and cared for the ducklings, with one keeper noticing a star shape that indicated hatching was imminent. The newly hatched ducklings represent 1/3 of the total wild population of Madagascan Pochards. They will be kept in captivity for now and the organization hopes to eventually release them back into the wild to increase the endangered species' population.

1. WORLD’S RAREST
DUCKLINGS HATCHED.
BY RACHEL ADAMS

3. PROCESS OF KEEPING THE DUCKS
ALIVE.
• In 2009 the WWT launched an emergency mission to rescue some of the
birds and the eggs.
• They brought the ducks and had them live in captivity.
• They took care of the eggs in an incubator and built an environment
where they can flourish.
• Nigel Jarrett, one of the keepers of the duck eggs said he saw a star-
shape on the eggs, and that’s how we knew they were about to hatch.

4. THE FUTURE
• The ducklings that hatched made up 1/3 of the Madagascan Pochards
population!
• Due to the small number of the ducks, they are going to keep them in
captivity.
• In the future, WWT hopes that some day they will be able to release the
ducklings into the wild.
• The hatching of these rare ducklings gives hope to everyone that these
endangered birds might one day be able to thrive in the wild again.

5. REFERENCES:
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17616488