Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) caused an upset on social media this week after claiming the duck ramps – placed at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. to help ducklings get in and out of the water – were a typical example of government waste. The ramps had been placed in areas where the concrete barrier prevented ducklings from safely getting out of the water.
Mallard ducks visit the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool each spring
According to a statement by the Architect of the U.S. Capitol, every spring, mallard duck families return to the pool in Union Square.
The ducks have reportedly made the pool their home in what they describe as an “oasis in the urban jungle” that is Washington, D.C. The birds are popular with visitors to the U.S. Capitol and at present there are four broods of ducks living in the pool, including several recently hatched ducklings. They placed the two duck ramps in the pool as part of their collaboration with City Wildlife, a local non-profit organization, on May 15.
Without the duck ramps, ducklings could die
The President of City Wildlife told the New York Times that without these ramps, the ducklings could likely die. Anne Lewis said the ducklings are often helped into the water by visitors, but have a problem getting out again due to the high concrete curb at the edge of the water.
According to Lewis the ducklings would either “drown from exhaustion,” trying to get out, or would die of starvation. This is why they made a plan to give the ducklings a way to get safely out of the water by installing the two new duck ramps.
Lewis went on to explain to the Architect of the Capitol that ducks have the uncanny ability to find a way out of the water, as long as one is provided to them.
While she says they can never truly predict the ducks’ behavior, their goal is to provide them a means to get into the water, and safely out again, leaving the rest of their lives up to the ducks themselves. She said they have pretty good instincts, especially when there are ducklings involved.
So far, it looks like the new duck ramps are working well, with many taking to social media to exclaim about the ramps and the cuteness of the ducklings.
As I indicated yesterday, the ducks found the duck ramp. pic.twitter.com/uapUW0sbNI
— Niels Lesniewski (@nielslesniewski) May 16, 2017
Twitter storm caused by Republican lawmaker over duck ramps
However, Rep. Walker doesn’t see the benefits or cuteness involved in the duck ramps and while it isn’t clear how much it cost to install them, Walker headed to Twitter to say they are a waste.
If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it must be government waste. pic.twitter.com/JKgabZ47O5
— Rep. Mark Walker (@RepMarkWalker) May 15, 2017
Since Walker posted his message about the duck ramps, there have been some 2,500 replies and a few gems are included below.
@RepMarkWalker Donald Trump has made 21 trips to the golf course in 16 weeks and this dumbass is talking about government waste.https://t.co/fFSNu4ol7N
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) May 16, 2017
@EnBuenora @TriviumPaolo @DamageEraser @RepMarkWalker We couldn't give them health care so we gave them a 47$ ramp so they could drown themselves instead.
— Jade Scully (@pigwigeon1) May 17, 2017
@TriviumPaolo @RepMarkWalker Or maybe we could put the mama duck and 1 baby duck in a NYC penthouse with all the security they would need. Oh and gold, give them gold.
— Lak Themallup (@DamageEraser) May 16, 2017
@RepMarkWalker The world is awash in hills. You picked the stupidest one in existence to die on.
— Ian Fortey (@IanFortey) May 16, 2017