On the wall of the Bonorong Wildlife Rescue office, there runs a tally for calls made to our 24-hour Rescue Service about a duck which has affectionately become known as Stickduck.

One look and you’ll understand where this duck got her moniker from. A unique injury made her stand out from the rest of the flock – She has a roughly 40cm stick impaled through the side of her body!

This Pacific black duck, a native duck species to Australia and a common sight in Tasmania urban areas, had fast become a celebrity around Hobart! The first recorded call to our 24-hour Wildlife Rescue Service for Stickduck was made back in February 2021 and from then, the team had been inundated with calls in regard to this impaled duck.

She was often sighted in many areas around greater Hobart, showing that her injury hadn’t inhibited her flight or ability to swim! Many people reported seeing her socialising with other ducks and carrying out all the normal duties of a duck day, albeit, with a stick in her back!   

Over the course of the 10 months that Stickduck was at large, many attempts were made by staff and volunteer Bonorong Wildlife Rescuers to catch her, but despite the large protruding stick that one would think might slow her down, she remained elusive and agile, escaping every attempt made to capture her.  

However, on Friday 8th October, her escape streak came to an end when she landed in the backyard of a house and thanks to the quick thinking of the homeowner, she was captured and taken to the team at Eastern Shore Vet for treatment. Once the team over there deemed her to be stable, they organised transport for her to be brought over to our Wildlife Hospital for some expert treatment.

After safely arriving at our Wildlife Hospital, our ifaw funded vet team anesthetised Stickduck and undertook the daunting task of removing the stick wedged through her body. The vet assessment included the relieving fact that the stick had narrowly missed major organs and veins – a lucky duck indeed!

Miraculously, the tissue around the wound had also healed cleanly and was free from any infection, making the removal of the now infamous stick an easier task than at first anticipated. It became as simple as just pulling it out!

Dr Luke had the satisfying task and as you can see, he was delighted with the result!

How a stick became lodged within this duck is completely unknown and still in debate, but the important thing is that the stick has been removed safely. It’s now displayed in a place of honour on the Wildlife Clinic wall.

With the stick removed and the wound clean, the wildlife vet team prescribed Stickduck with one week of rest to ensure no complications arose. Once the week was up and the vet team could see she moved and swam well, she was given the all clear to be released back into the wild.

On the much-anticipated release day, the Bonorong team gave Stickduck a big farewell as she left the Sanctuary to head off to her new stick-free life. She travelled safely in her pet pack to the release site, a place she was frequently seen. As the car pulled up, she began to get restless and call-out knowing she was about to return home.

At the site, two Wildlife Rescuers who had become well acquainted with Stickduck over the past 10 months were waiting to do the great honours of returning her to the wild. As they walked closer to the water, they recounted all the times they had gone out to try and capture the elusive duck and how it always ended with failure. It was great closure for them to see the happy ending of Stickduck’s journey and how their dedication directly played a role in her rehabilitation.  

With the pet pack set down by the water and Stickduck’s fellow ducks eagerly looking on, the two volunteer Wildlife Rescuers opened the pet pack slowly, when suddenly – a loud flap of wings – and Stickduck was out and running towards the water! As she jumped in without a moment’s hesitation, the Rescuers called after her with some stern advice ‘No more sticks!’ they cried.

We can only hope she took the feedback onboard..

This has been a massive win for wildlife, and we would like to thank all those involved in Stickduck’s rescue and release. We hope she lives a long and happy stick-free life.