Pale Male, the domesticated Mallard (click to see the larger version)

This is Pale Male (yes, I gave him that name), a domesticated male Mallard that’s lived in Montrose Harbor for a couple years. Since he can’t fly, someone probably dumped him at Montrose thinking he would be ok. Turns out that was a good call. Pale Male fit right in with the wild Mallards and hasn’t looked back. Pale Male is easy to pick out – look for a larger and paler Mallard with the local Mallards in Montrose Harbor.

Why So Big?

Human beings like to mess with nature (by mess with I mean manipulate it for our own needs). This messing can be for aesthetic reasons, like the cultivated flowers in your garden. It can also be for more practical reasons. We select some animals for certain traits like larger size so these animals produce more meat. The familiar Mallard has been the subject of human-directed selection for increased size. Nature plays with genes and so do people.