Marbled duck
Tierpark Berlin is committed to the conservation and reintroduction of marbled ducks in Spain.
Projektinfo
- Project partner
Zoobotánico Jerez and the Consorci per a la Recuperació de la Fauna de las Illes Balears (COFIB)
- Species
Marbled duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris)
- IUCN threatened status
Vulnerable (VU)
- Project location
Mallorca, Spanien
- Greatest threat
Destruction of habitat
- Response
Setting up breeding programmes; releasing zoo-bred marbled ducks into the wild
Threat Categories of IUCN
Once a common sight
Tierpark Berlin has been home to marbled ducks since 1961. These small ducks were once common across Central Asia and the Mediterranean region – including large parts of Spain. The species favours shallow waters with dense reed growth, but this type of habitat is becoming increasingly hard to find.
Draining resources
Destruction of their habitat and breeding sites has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of marbled ducks left in the wild. The ducks’ habitat is primarily being destroyed by the draining of wetlands for agricultural expansion. In 2007, only three breeding pairs were known to be living in Mallorca. The marbled duck is therefore designated “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. That is the same classification given to, for example, the African elephant and the Indian rhinoceros.
A fresh start on the island
In 2009, a project for the reintroduction of marbled ducks was launched in the S’Albufera Natural Park in the northeast of Mallorca. The wetland area in this park is one of the most important in the Balearics. In 2017, Tierpark Berlin teamed up with Opel Zoo Kronberg in Germany and Zoobotánico Jerez in Spain to organise the release of 25 zoo-bred ducks into the Mallorcan park – including, for the first time, nine ducks hatched at the Tierpark. By now more than 40 ducks, hatched at the Tierpark Berlin could be release back into their natural habitat.
