The University of Wrocław, zoos in Wrocław, Bratislava, Budapest and Berlin and the company Stawy Milickie S.A. are implementing the ‘Ferruginous Warbler Project’. This duck species is threatened with extinction, with 100-130 pairs in Poland in 2018-2020 left, several times fewer than a few decades ago.

More than 90 % of the breeding grounds of the sub-adult duck are fish ponds. The main threats to this species are habitat loss, destruction of wetlands, reconstruction and regulation of reservoirs, droughts, but also predators, including invasive species such as American minks, nyctereutes and raccoons. Although the ferruginous duck is not a game bird, hunting is also a significant threat to it.

A year ago, the organisers of the campaign took the first specimens of this endangered species to the Stawy Milickie nature reserve. A total of 22 ducks were reintroduced to the wild: some from the breeding stock of ZOO Wrocław, and others from zoos in Bratislava in Slovakia and Tierpark in Berlin.

Read more: https://uwr.edu.pl/ratujemy-podgorzalki/