World’s ‘loneliest duck’ killed by dogs on remote Pacific island

Water bird Trevor achieved unlikely worldwide fame for being only member of his species living on tiny Niue

Trevor arrived on Niue in 2018 (Facebook)

Trevor, who became known as the “world’s loneliest duck”, has died after being attacked by dogs on the remote Pacific island of Niue.

The bird developed into a local celebrity before achieving international fame last year for being the only member of his species living in the tiny nation.

Trevor is thought to have arrived on Niue, some 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand, during a tropical storm in 2018, although exact details of how he reached the island were never determined.

An announcement of his death, posted on his Facebook fan page, described him as a “very cool duck” who had “won the heart of so many locals and tourists”.

The page added that the duck’s body had been discovered in a bush after apparently being attacked by dogs.

Trevor’s death prompted an outpouring of grief both on Niue and abroad, with Trevor Mallard, speaker of the New Zealand parliament who the duck was named after, leading the tributes.

“Deepest sympathy to the people of Niue from the parliament of New Zealand,” he wrote.

Trevor first found fame in September last year, when he became the subject of a New Zealand Herald story titled “The sorry tale of Niue’s only duck”.

The piece detailed the troubles the duck had faced since arriving on the island, including finding a home in an alien habitat.

Without any lakes or ponds on Niue, Trevor had been forced to live in a puddle by a roadside, where he was attacked regularly by an aggressive rooster neighbour.

However, the human residents of the island were more welcoming of the duck and enlisted the local fire brigade to top up his puddle whenever it began to dry out.