STORYTELLING COMPETITION, Runner Up - Mother

AND here is Jane’s beautiful story…

During the bushfires at the end of 2019, our wildlife rescue friend Paula was inundated with fire-affected wildlife. Together with my daughters, Luna and Juno, I would help chop up fruit and feed birds and would marvel at the ten gorgeous baby bats hanging from her clothes and from the ceiling of a large cage in her lounge room.

Paula and her team of carers were exhausted. The baby bats needed to be fed every few hours, and there was a multitude of birds and small mammals in her converted garage. Even though we had no expertise in wildlife care, we became Paula’s “duck people”, as native ducks are easy to care for and there are always lots of ducklings who have lost their mums to cars and predators.

We fell in love with our first tiny, fluffy Pacific Black Ducks Hollow, Raven and Starfire, and have since gone on to raise about forty Pacific Black Ducks and Australian Wood Ducks. They stay in a tub in the lounge room getting frequent cuddles for a few weeks, then move to the big cage in the garden for a couple of months, until they are big enough to start wandering down to the creek at the bottom of our backyard and join the flocks of ducks on the lagoon. At least a few come home to visit us every day.

One morning recently, one of the Pacific Black Ducks we raised and released about a year ago, Julio, came home to show us her seven tiny ducklings! We all felt so happy that she brought her babies home to show us. They came back and forth from the water to the creek bank at the bottom of our backyard throughout the day.

After lunch, I heard the alarm - quacking and splashing on the creek. I ran down and saw a big black eel flashing through the water, and Julio quacking like crazy to get all her babies safely up onto the creek bank. I herded them through the gate and into the garden and gave them some food, hoping they’d hang out at our place to sleep, wanting them all to be safe and survive. But they went back down the creek, returning late in the afternoon.

I walked down to see them and Julio lifted herself up, spread her wings and sheltered all seven babies under her warm body. I squatted a couple of metres from her and looked into her eyes, feeling her exhaustion, the fierceness of her protection for her babies and the precariousness of the environment in which she was raising them. She eventually closed her eyes and had a little rest. I felt so happy she trusted me enough to rest for a little while after what must have been a completely exhausting day for a new mama.

Tears streamed down my face as images of the mothers in the refugee camps that I worked in South Sudan and Chad came into my mind. Mothers who had fled their burning villages, with their children and whatever they could carry, sheltering under meagre pieces of plastic as the wet season rains began. Mothers who went to extraordinary lengths, desperately trying to keep their children alive and safe, fiercely protected their children despite their exhaustion and unimaginable experiences. I felt my own love and fear and fierce protection, and that of all the mothers of all the species. I felt all of us being held by our big Mother Earth. And I cried and cried, watching my tears disappear into the earth.

The next morning Luna found a lone baby duckling down by the creek. She named her Sweetie and brought her inside to be cuddled and cared for. We searched the creek but there was no sign of Julio and the other six babies. A few hours later we heard quacking, and under the sandpaper fig close to the bank we found Julio, with one leg missing, and no ducklings. Juno helped me catch her, which was difficult as she was clearly in pain, and we took her to the wildlife vet. She had been attacked by the eel, and sadly the vet was unable to save her. We came home and cuddled Sweetie, and I cried and cried, watching my tears disappear into the Earth.

Addendum: A beautiful duck story following the sad duck story... Sweetie, the sole surviving duckling of Julio's babies, stayed with us for a time and grew big enough to wander around the yard. Eventually, she wandered down to the creek and joined with some other ducks. I saw her a couple of weeks ago with a mama duck and her slightly larger duckling - she's been adopted by another duck family. Very lovely.

JANE LYNCH