The Incredible Legacy of Cargo the Steller’s Eider
At the ASLC, every animal we meet leaves a lasting impact. Cargo, one of our cherished Steller’s eider hens, was a beacon of hope in our conservation efforts.
Most ASLC visitors and even our staff don’t get the opportunity to interact with our off-display animals like Cargo — often for biosecurity reasons. However, those who worked with her directly developed lasting attachments and were deeply affected by her sudden, recent loss.
Cargo, the Steller’s eider hen, was part of our original flock of birds established in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accomplish conservation goals for Steller’s eiders when the species was federally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. At the time, this was the only flock of its kind, and these animals contributed in many ways to the conservation of their species.
Over the years, as we went through the challenging trial and error of developing a sustainable breeding program with this species, Cargo and her mate Patrick became one of our most reliable pairs.
In ASLC Avian Curator Kristen’s words: “Cargo and her mate Patrick were a very special pair. Cargo was hands down the best Steller’s hen at making a beautiful nest bowl, incubating her eggs, and rearing ducklings. Patrick helped Cargo defend their breeding units like a champ and always needed a special perching log so he could keep a vigilant lookout. Cargo was a very reliable mother duck, which is the highest praise you can give a female duck, in my opinion.”
Most eiders change pairings each breeding season, but Cargo and Patrick were one of the few pairs that always came back to each other.
When our animal care team found that she had passed overnight from natural causes, we were devastated. Patrick even defended her to the end, crawling on our animal care and vet staff as they removed her from their area — a very uncommon behavior for this species, which usually avoids contact with humans. It was a heartbreaking moment knowing our best pair of Steller’s were not going to be there for us any longer.
But, with this sad story comes a joyful ending…
Cargo laid a single viable egg before her body could no longer handle egg production. When we discovered the egg was fertile, we were thrilled! However, we tempered our excitement with caution, fully aware that not all fertile eggs successfully hatch and grow into healthy ducklings.
Because artificial incubation is especially challenging with Steller’s eiders, we offered the egg to two incubating spectacle eider hens, who fortunately accepted the egg when it was placed into their nest. This allowed us to naturally incubate the egg for a good chunk of the incubation period, giving it a better chance to successfully hatch. With tentative hope, we let the little egg incubate away.
By the time the hatching period was near, we no longer had any incubating spectacled eider hens. We cautiously put the egg in a hatcher when it internally pipped (the first stage of breaking through the egg), and waited patiently expecting to observe the normal three-day hatching process. We know that eggs are often lost during hatching, so we kept our expectations in check.
Cargo’s final egg was determined to come into the world with a bang! Rather than going through the multi-day hatching process, we came in the next morning to a fully dry and fluffy duckling!
Our team was elated! The single and final egg Cargo laid turned out to be the fastest-hatching egg we’ve ever seen!
Now, there’s an adorable duckling to show for it. The avian team hand-raised the ducklong for a few days, and then cautiously introduced it to another female Steller’s eider, named “HeJe”, in hopes that it would foster the duckling. HeJe immediately welcomed the duckling, and they’ve been together ever since.
In the following days, we confirmed that Cargo’s duckling is a female, and in her honor, we have named the little duckling “Parcel.”
We are so excited to have this new addition complete the full circle of Cargo, a very special bird. And I’m sure our new Steller’s eider will make an impact on our program, too!
With such an incredible story, we wanted all to be able to follow along on this duckling’s journey through a live stream on our YouTube channel. This duckling will grow up FAST, reaching the largest it will ever be in the next month or so. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel to get all the updates!
