Volunteers Care For Ducks Found Abandoned In Prospect Park On Easter

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) --There's been a growing number of domestic ducks showing up at a Brooklyn park.

As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, animal rescuers say they're being illegally dumped.

It's a race against time to save the flock of six brown, small domesticated ducks swimming among geese and other wildlife in Prospect Park.

"It's like throwing Donald Duck to the wild and saying, 'okay, survive'," Caroline Lee said.

Lee and Mary Beth Artz are just two of the volunteers who have been feeding the ducks daily since they were discovered on Easter Sunday.

They were dumped illegally, and are believed to be the products of a school project.

"This is the time of year, and that's why we think this may be a school hatching project," Lee said, "A number of schools are showing children what it's like. The miracle, so to speak, of life."

A week earlier, three other domesticated ducks were found in the same pond -- likely from a live poultry market, because of their clipped bills and wings.

Despite ducks being illegal to purchase and own in New York City, the issue has been growing in Prospect Park.

"They don't right off the bat know how to look for food. They don't know how to protect themselves from predators, they can't escape predators," Artz said.

Releasing animals into New York City parks is also illegal. It's enforced by the NYPD and parks enforcement.

Rescuers said it's a tough law to crack down on.

"Somebody has to be caught in the act of dumping, which is not that easy," Lee said.

Once the ducks are safely rescued, the next challenge will be finding them a new home.