Baer’s Pochard

SSP Coordinator:

Lina Aita, North Carolina Zoo

Vice Coordinator:

Cara Templeton, Minnesota Zoological Garden

Aythya baeri

Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri) is a critically endangered diving duck, once widespread across East Asia but now reduced to a very small and fragmented population, with only a few hundred individuals believed to remain in the wild. It inhabits freshwater wetlands, including shallow lakes, marshes, slow-moving rivers, and flooded grasslands, relying on clean, undisturbed water bodies for feeding and breeding. Baer’s pochard is primarily omnivorous, feeding by diving for aquatic plants, seeds, and algae, as well as insects, mollusks, and other small aquatic invertebrates. Habitat loss, wetland degradation, pollution, and hunting have driven its dramatic decline, making conservation efforts such as wetland protection and captive-breeding programs crucial for the species’ survival.