Monday, March 13, 2023,
This is Beaker. He’s a Mallard Duck with an unusual profile. Beaker got his name from a popular Muppet’s Show character, for what may be obvious reasons.
Beaker came to Sweetbriar Nature Center after having suffered a rather grievous encounter with a Snapping Turtle when he was still a very young duckling. It seems that the Snapping Turtle took a chomp at Beaker and took off a good deal of his beak.
Beaker, luckily—and amazingly – survived, his Holy Cow! wound. However, despite the fact that he is able to still feed in an almost normal fashion, we are not sure if he can be returned to the wild. On the other hand, Beaker is very personable and has many fans amongst the rehabbers. JK
JK
Oh, he’s a cutie — even with the abbreviated beak. 🙂 Thanks for sharing him. He has a contemplative look to him. Deep ducky.
Beaker is a true survivor, with amazing resilience. He came to us as a very young duckling; so young that we couldn’t even discern his gender. We knew he was a Mallard, but until he molted into his adult plumage, we never knew whether Beaker was male or female. That’s how young he was. That such a young duckling could survive such a devastating attack speaks volumes abut his pluckiness. JK.
Maybe his middle name should be “Sparky”. 🙂
🙂 JK.
i can’t even imagine…wow JK….looks like he got a lot of love from you Sweet Briar peoplel…thank goodness for people like you
Jessie, It’s the Rehabbers who do most of the work of that nature. They’re the real heroes. JK.