How Long Do Mallards Live? (Mallard Duck Lifespan)

wild duck(platypus) is the most abundant duck species in North America. In fact, affectionately called mallards, they are probably the most widely known species of duck in the world.

These graceful birds are winter visitors throughout North America, Europe, much of Asia, and even parts of Africa. The mallard is also the ancestor of the domestic duck, a common domestic and ornamental bird worldwide.

Mallard ducks have been recorded for nearly 30 years in the wild, but the average human is unlikely to live to be two years old. In captivity, mallards are likely to live longer than wild birds if cared for properly. A captive mallard in the UK is a good example of its potential longevity. The man, “Ernie,” lived to be at least 21 years old.

Mallards can fall prey to a wide variety of predators, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and even fish. These animals prey on mallards opportunistically or target them specifically. Mallards are also popular with hunters across the United States, taking millions of these waterfowl each year.

In addition to predators and hunters, mallards can die from a variety of natural causes such as extreme weather and diseases caused by viruses, parasites, bacteria and fungi. Read on to learn more about these and other factors that affect mallard duck lifespan.

In the wild, mallard ducks typically live only two years

How long can wild ducks live in the wild?

On average, mallards live less than two years in the wild. Most mallards never mature, and it is estimated that only one in four eggs hatch and give birth to ducklings that reach their wings.

Mallards that reach breeding age may live around 3 years, but they can live much longer. In fact, wild mallards can live for more than two decades under ideal conditions.

How long can wild ducks live in captivity?

If cared for properly, mallard ducks may survive longer in captivity than in the wild. Domestic ducks bred from wild mallards are reported to live an average of 5 to 10 years.

The Guinness record for the oldest ducks in captivity is a pair of domestic ducks in South Africa who lived for 49 years. Since the next oldest recorded mallard is about 20 years younger, this record should probably be taken with a grain of salt!

Wild ducks in captivity tend to live longer, often living to be five to ten years old

How Do Most Mallard Ducks Die?

Wild mallards die from many natural and human-related causes. Read on to learn more about the most common causes of mallard duck deaths.

weather

Mallard ducklings are not very hardy and will die at temperatures between 28-32°F (0 to -2°C). This makes the young birds vulnerable to cold snaps. Hailstorms can also kill mall ducks and other birds in open habitat. A hail storm in Montana killed an estimated 11,000 waterbirds (of various species) on one night in 2019.

disease

Mallard ducks can be affected by many bacterial, fungal and viral infections. Sometimes an outbreak can kill as many as 250,000 ducks in an area, as happened in Utah in 1932.

Documented mallard infections include the following:

• fowl cholera
• Avian Influenza
• poultry botulism
• Aspergillosis

Mallard ducks can also harbor a variety of parasites that can affect their health. These include leeches, lice, nematodes, flukes and roundworms.

Male mallard in flight

prey

Mallard ducks are vulnerable to predation at all stages of their life, from nest eggs, juveniles, and even adults. Female mallards are especially vulnerable to predation when they are brooding because they are easy prey for mammals when they nest on the ground. The effect of predation on hatching females is so pronounced that it is thought to explain the larger ratio of adult male mallards to female mallards.

hunt

In the United States, hunters kill millions of ducks each year, and mallards are the most popular and widely fished species. During the 2020-2021 season, there were over 1 million active waterfowl hunters who harvested 2.8 million mallards during that time.

What is the life cycle of a wild duck?

Mallards mate for life, but are not strictly loyal to their mates. These birds usually mate in winter but only lay eggs in spring. The female mallard prepares the nest by scraping shallowly on the ground and pulling some material from nearby.

Female mallards lay up to 13 eggs in a clutch and incubate the eggs for 23-30 days. Mallard ducklings are precocious, meaning they start developing from the moment they hatch. They leave the nest within a day and can eat immediately. However, their mother will lead them to water and food sources and hatch them for the first two weeks or so.

The mother mallard stays with her ducklings for about 50 days until they can fly. By following other adults, ducklings will learn more about the area’s feeding grounds. Mallard ducks are ready to mate and start a new generation at 1 year old.

Closeup of a mallard duckling

What are the natural enemies of wild ducks?

Mallard ducks are vulnerable to predation at all stages of their life. They are eaten by a wide variety of predators, including various small mammals such as foxes, predatory birds such as hawks and hawks, and even large carnivorous fish.

Read on for details on the mallard’s most important predator.

Foxes, skunks, ravens, ravens, magpies and gulls have all been recorded preying on mallard eggs. Mink are the primary predator of mallard juveniles, but mallard ducklings are preyed upon by a number of opportunistic predators. These include other mammals, birds, reptiles, and even large fish such as largemouth bass and muskfish.

Adult mallards have fewer enemies than ducklings, but will still be preyed upon by a variety of predators. The following mammal species have all been recorded as preying on mallards:

• red fox
• mink
• Coyotes
• raccoon
• long tailed weasel

Birds of prey are also important predators of mallards. In North America, mallards feed on the following birds of prey:

• great horned owl
• Peregrine Falcon, Steppe and Gyrfalcon
• northern goshawk
• golden eagle and bald eagle
• Swainson’s, Red-tailed, and Iron Hawks
• northern harrier

A female mallard swimming on the water

How old was the oldest mallard?

The oldest reliable record of a mallard is a bird found in Iowa. This bird lived an impressive 29 years and 1 month in the wild. A close contender was a man from Arkansas who lived to be 27 years and seven months old.

How long can a wild duck live without eating?

Mallards are fed daily if possible. How long they can survive without eating depends on how much energy they expend, which is closely related to the temperature of the environment.

Another important factor in determining how long mallards can survive without food is the amount of energy (fat) the bird stores.

A pair of mallard ducks together in winter

How do wild ducks survive the winter?

Mallards can survive winter conditions in most parts of the United States. However, individuals that breed in Canada and Alaska cannot survive the harsh northern winters and migrate south each year to Mexico and the southern United States for the winter.

Adult mallards are well equipped to survive cold temperatures. These birds have excellent insulation in the form of dense feathers and are able to store large fat reserves. This allows them to survive for short periods of time, but migrate to warmer regions when water bodies freeze and food becomes unavailable.

Are wild ducks endangered?

Mallard ducks are very large in distribution and population size worldwide. They are not endangered and are listed as a species of “least concern” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This means the species is currently thriving and not in danger of extinction.