Odd duck takes up residence in Halifax pond

People living near Hemlock Ravine Park in Halifax are worried the park's new resident is in for a cold awakening if she stays around too long.

Crackers walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, but "she's a domestic duck, and she doesn't fly," said Edith Clattenburg. "She runs, but she doesn't fly."

Crackers is an Indian runner duck, a ground-dweller that turned up in Halifax's historic heart-shaped pond in Hemlock Ravine Park earlier this summer.

Clattenburg said when she first noticed Crackers, she thought she was looking at an ugly duckling that might one day turn into a swan. She began feeding the odd duck her favourite snack tomatoes.

But now she's worried.

"The pond freezes over every winter, and there's predators around," said Clattenburg.

"We want Crackers to survive."

The Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is trying to find Crackers a warm home before her favorite pond becomes a heart-shaped ice cube.