A river, 20,000 ducks and countless helping hands

Unlike caged ducks raised solely on commercial feed, Huang's free-range ducks develop firmer meat and higher nutritional value through constant outdoor activity, enabling them to sell for 3 to 5 yuan more per bird than factory-farmed counterparts.

On May 27, a resident filming along the river spotted thousands of ducks drifting downstream in the churning water. After the video was posted online, it quickly attracted widespread attention. In the following days, members of the public, river patrol teams, police officers and firefighters joined forces to help Huang recover his ducks.

Thanks to persistent searches and passers-by rescuing stray ducks along the river, more than 2,000 ducks have been recovered, helping Huang recoup an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 yuan in losses.

"Everyone who passed by stopped to lend a hand. Around 20 to 30 people have helped me along the way. Without them, I wouldn't have recovered even these 2,000 ducks," Huang said.

He has also received a steady stream of phone calls about his missing ducks.

"Some people tipped me off about where the ducks might be. Others told me to take good care of myself and suggested ways to search for them. Several netizens even drew route maps for me and edited videos tracking the ducks' movements online," he said. "I cherish every act of kindness from these generous people and have been deeply touched by their compassion."

Qian Zhengyi, deputy secretary-general of the Changjiang Conservation Foundation, said that more than 23,000 fishery patrol officers across the Yangtze River basin had joined the search. While carrying out routine conservation patrols for the Yangtze finless porpoise, personnel in Anhui, Jiangxi and Jiangsu provinces have also been keeping watch for the drifting duck flocks.

On June 2, staff members from the water affairs bureau of Jiang'an district in Wuhan, together with volunteers, spotted about 200 to 300 ducks beside a pond beneath a bridge during a patrol along the Zhujia River.

At about 9:40 am on June 5, Li Bangwen, a Yangtze River patrol officer from Wangjiang county in Anqing, Anhui province, and his colleagues spotted a large flock of ducks while patrolling by boat near the Yangwan River estuary. They estimated the flock numbered about 2,000.

"I knew instantly these weren't wild ducks. Wild ducks never gather in such huge numbers," Li said.

He added that the swift summer currents kept the flock constantly on the move and that the ducks could drift farther downstream at any time. However, patrol personnel lack specialized vessels and professional equipment to capture them.

The Fuhuan River flows through Suizhou, Xiaogan and Wuhan in Hubei before joining the Yangtze as a tributary. The Yangwan River estuary is about 420 kilometers downstream from where the Fuhuan meets the Yangtze in Wuhan.

After viewing photos of the flock, Huang confirmed that they were his missing ducks.

"All my ducks are egg-laying females. There's no mistake," he said.

The torrential rain pushed water levels on the Fuhuan River to 2.2 meters above the flood warning line. Many poultry farmers in the flood-hit areas also saw their livestock swept away by surging waters, causing heavy financial losses for rural households.

Huang is still searching tirelessly for his remaining ducks.

"These ducks were nearly ready for market and were about to start laying eggs, with abundant nutrients stored in their bodies. They can survive in the wild by feeding on aquatic plants and grains. If people don't catch them along the way, they could even drift all the way to the sea," he said.

Nevertheless, Huang believes the chances of recovering the remaining ducks are slim. Many have been taken in by villagers living along the river, while others have been caught by anglers, making them extremely difficult to retrieve.

Once the search ends, Huang said he plans to strengthen flood prevention facilities around his duck sheds.