REMINISCENCES FROM THE MELBOURNE ZOO. 
161 
water to scalp him — the swan's usual method of killing. The under, 
helpless swan tries to shake off his opponent by diving and jerking him 
off, but this is usually hopeless. If the top one fails to give his desper- 
ately wriggling victim his quietus by scalping, exhaustion will eventually 
compel him to let go, and then the released bird will be in a state of 
collapse, with only power to dog-paddle with his wings to the bank for 
rest. 
A DUCK THAT COULD NOT SWIM. 
Probably the last thing that we can easily credit is the statement 
that there could be a duck without the power of swimming. It was 
thought an impossibility — if it ever was thought of at all — until recently, 
when by accident such a thing was discovered at the Zoo. There was a 
great white Muscovy drake that had been away from water deep enough 
for more than wading for several years. It was thought expedient to place 
him on the swans’ pond with several ducks of his species, and therefore 
one morning he was carried thither and thrown in. At once they saw 
there was something wrong. He sank far below the Plimsoll mark, as 
though he were freighted to the very limit. After a few frantic attempts 
to prevent himself gliding down into the water, first head foremost and 
then by the stern, as if he were a torpedoed liner, he determined to make 
for the island that stood invitingly near. He had at once discovered that 
he was in far too deep water to wade through it, so he made an awkward 
attempt at propelling himself towards firm earth and safety. He pitched 
dangerously for a moment or two, and threw open his wings in his 
frantic attempts to save himself from drowning. He then discovered 
that by using his wings he could paddle along with less risk of disaster 
than he had by staying still. The poor thing was obviously terrified 
of foundering, and he did not like the whole community of ducks on the 
pond watching him with open-mouthed astonishment. With a series 
of splashes, beating the water with his open wings, he got finally to the 
island, but, when he was driven off from there by the insatiable curiosity 
of the other birds, he made such a miserable attempt to get to the other 
side that one of the men waded in and brought him out to prevent him 
drowning. 
This seemed such an extraordinary thing that I was asked to go 
and watch the phenomenon for myself. It was a beautiful morning and 
the whole of the birds were sleeping in the sunshine on the shore when 
the great duck was put gently into the pond. At once he began rocking 
dangerously lengthways, as he sank lower and lower in the water until 
it almost reached his pinion joints. The male white swan hastily came 
G 
