A duck that was found with a metal-tipped arrow piercing its neck in Orange County is now on the road to recovery.
The injured mallard was spotted swimming in a lake in Newport Beach but flew away from an animal control officer who tried to capture it on a boat, the Newport Beach Police Department said. The next day, a girl and her father were at Kaiser Elementary School in Costa Mesa for a soccer game when they noticed the elusive duck.
"The little girl was trying to catch it and decided to lure it with her McDonald's pancake breakfast," said Debbie McGuire, the executive director of Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. "She gave it up to keep the duck around while her dad called the police department for help."
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Officers with the Costa Mesa Police Department brought the duck to veterinarians at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. An X-ray showed the arrow had narrowly missed the mallard’s trachea.
"It was pretty shocking for staff to see," said Elizabeth Wood, a veterinarian with Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. "It entered one side of the neck and exited the other side of the neck, completely all the way through.
“He was pretty distressed. He was open-mouth breathing, which we associate with stress and with pain."
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The veterinarians gave the duck some pain medication and took the arrow out, giving the animal some instant relief. The duck is on antibiotics, but he’s eating well and is expected to make a full recovery after an upcoming surgery.
“He is a very lucky guy,” Wood said.
The NBPD is investigating the incident as a case of animal cruelty and illegal hunting. Anyone with information is asked to contact NBPD animal control officer Nick Ott at 949-644-3688 ext. 2716 or at nott@nbpd.org.
