Something’s Fishy in Duckling Murders
WASHINGTON — The search for a mysterious “monster from the black lagoon” that may be gobbling helpless baby ducklings in a downtown nature pond apparently ended Friday with the sighting of two well-fed catfish swishing lazily through the shallows.
The catfish were spotted by National Park Service ranger Helen Horton, who was slogging through the muck wearing rubber hip waders and armed with a long-handled rake and fish net after the pond had been nearly drained.
“The catfish are a strong possibility,” biological engineer John Hoke said. “They just love ducks. Yes, the catfish are an awfully good smoking gun.”
Hoke said he would refill the pond outside the main entrance to Interior Department headquarters and set an underwater trap for the catfish. Meantime, the three ducklings that remain from an original brood of 11 will have to take their chances on survival.
The ducklings’ plight has aroused the sympathy and concern of scores of federal office workers who stroll past Bolivar Pond.
“It happens all the time in the wilderness, but it’s hard for people right here in the city to watch nature doing its thing,” Horton said.
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