GRAPHIC: Duck rescued after being shot with arrow

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS) - Someone in Southern California shot a mallard duck with an arrow, officials say.

Despite being hit in the neck, the duck survived and was treated by wildlife experts.

Animal experts caring for the mallard duck that was discovered with an arrow through its neck are surprised it has survived this traumatic injury.

Last weekend, a 10-year-old California girl found the bird at a park in Costa Mesa.

“They saw this poor duck and realized it needed help so she gave up her McDonald’s pancake breakfast to try to lure it in, which was great. Don’t feed wildlife, but in this incident, she kept it there so that it could be caught and brought into care. So she’s a little hero, right?” says Debbie McGuire, Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center director.

The arrow, thought to be shot from a crossbow, nearly went through the mallard’s trachea.

“We can see the wall of the trachea up here and the arrow is right next to it, so it narrowly missed actually going through the trachea, which we were very relieved to find out,” says veterinarian Dr. Elizabeth Wood.

GRAPHIC: Some may find images in this video disturbing.

Animal control officers are working to get DNA off the arrow in an attempt to prosecute the person who nearly killed the duck.

Staffers at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach gently removed it after the mallard was sedated.

“He’s very lucky that the dart is out and his pain level seemed to decrease significantly as soon as the dart was out. His breathing went back to normal and he actually started self feeding quite quickly, so animals are so remarkable and so resilient,” Wood said.

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