Perky perks up after close shave

- Published: 05 January, 2007

duck still quacking after being shot and then refrigerated for two days

They say cats have nine lives, not ducks, but a waterfowl from the US may be the exception that proves the rule.

The duck was intitially shot and, presumed dead, transferred to a refrigerator for two days. When the hunter's wife decided she fancied a bit of duck à l'orange, she was given something of a fright to discover the duck, now named Perky, was still quacking.

The bird was immediately rushed to the vet - clearly the hunter's wife being more of a soft-touch than her husband - and sent into surgery. Despite actually dying briefly on the operating table, Perky is

expected to make a full recovery, albeit with a pin in her wing.

According to the BBC, Perky's heart failed during the operation, prompting senior vet David Hale to declare her officially dead.

"We lost her. You know, the bird's dead and it's over. I'm sorry," he told the Beeb. "And then, up comes that head and the wings start flapping and, honestly, 20 seconds later, I mean the bird was, like, up."

There were scenes of high

emotion in the operating theatre, said Noni Beck, of the Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary. "I star-ted crying: 'She's alive!'"