A male Paradise duck stuck in a tree in Gladstone on Sunday. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED
then along came a fire truck
‘Slumber the duck’ on the road to recovery and return to wild
EMMA BROWN
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This is the story of a ducky who was unlucky, then got lucky.
It’s no nursery rhyme, though.
On Sunday in Gladstone, a male Paradise duck was hanging by a foot, literally, trapped about 15 metres up a dead tree.
A person who noticed the stuck duck called the SPCA.
The duck was thought to have been standing on top of the broken tree, when it fell, wedging its leg and was unable to right itself again.
A man climbed an adjacent tree to rescue the duck but couldn’t reach it.
SPCA Masterton Centre’s Inspectorate team lead Ben Lakomy, who had just left the Carterton Daffodil Festival nearby, went to see what was happening.
He too had a go at rescuing the duck but was also unsuccessful.
The SPCA has a national rescue unit, but, Lakomy said he decided to give the Carterton fire service a call as all he needed was a ladder, and time was an issue.
The Carterton Volunteer Fire Brigade zoomed to the rescue, ladder at the ready and in the time it takes to say “quack, quack, quack” the duck was free.
Lakomy said he did not think the duck had been up there too long as it was still moving and not yet lethargic.
“The injuries from what I could tell were superficial. It was a fairly quick rescue.”
The duck was taken to the SPCA’s hospital at the Wellington Centre before being transferred to Wellington Bird Rehabilitation Trust.
On arrival the duck was said to be in a “flat state”, according to WBRT founder Craig Shepherd [aka Duckman].
It had a wound on its right leg and needed anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relief.
However, this duck, now nicknamed ‘Slumber’ was made of stern stuff. It is now on the up and up, and looking much better, thanks to duck vytrate [like an energy drink] and tube fed chicken pellets.
The outcome for the unlucky ducky is now expected to be lucky, and soon he’ll be released back in Gladstone.
