A Breathtaking Mandarin Duck Turned Up In Laval & No One Knows How It Got There

The most beautiful mandarin duck has been spotted at a marsh in Laval — and it's making a big splash with local photographers, who have been turning up to catch a glimpse. 

Not only is this duck absolutely breathtaking, but he's also somewhat of a mystery. His breed, the mandarin duck, is native to East Asia and Quebecers would not normally find this type of duck living in the wild.

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Making waves in Laval

“Every day [there's] lots of photograph[ers] around him so excited to see one here in the wild," said Li Ying Lou, a local photographer who has been snapping pictures of the mandarin duck since April 11. 

Li Ying Lou last photographed the mandarin duck on April 21.

"I hope he will survive in the wild and [he] needs a female mandarin duck ... [to expand] this species in Quebec," Li Ying Lou said. 

According to CTV News, the mandarin duck has been seen swimming around with two mallards — one of which is a female.

Theories on how the duck got there

So how did this special duck wind up in Laval? 

There was some speculation, CTV reported, that this is Eddie, a mandarin duck who escaped from an Ontario farm back in January. 

But Eddie's owner, Tracey Harpley, confirmed to MTL Blog that he is safely back at home. 

"The one in your pic looks older so maybe someone dumped him ... maybe he was aggressive and someone let him go," Harpley speculated. 

Michael Bourgouin, a Quebec duck breeder based in Pierreville who said he has over 500 ducks, has another theory.

"This bird escaped. There is a lot of mandarin [breeders] in Quebec and it happens," Bourgouin told us, noting that some of his own ducks have escaped in the past.

He explained that Quebecers breed and own mandarin ducks because the ducks are "very beautiful to look at" and they're easy to keep and raise for beginners. 

Will this mandarin duck survive roaming wild in Quebec?

Bourgouin said mandarin ducks can survive very well in cold weather but would likely have difficulty finding food on their own during a Quebec winter.

He said he believes the mandarin duck is at risk of being "killed by an autumn hunter."