The red-faced duck in Hualien’s Liyu Lake "drowned for an hour" before standing tall again...

▲ The red-faced ducks in Hualien’s Liyu Lake have stood tall again after deflating yesterday. (Photo / Provided by Hualien County Government)

Reported by Chen Tzu-yin / Taipei

Yesterday (13th) morning, the family of red-faced ducks in Hualien’s Liyu Lake suddenly deflated en masse and "bowed their heads to drink water", which was due to an abnormality in the power supply system and the backup generator battery failing to recharge, causing the ducks to lose power and deflate collectively. This led to the red-faced duck family briefly overheating and deflating, but after emergency inflation, they got back up and were "standing tall" again by yesterday afternoon, making a fresh reappearance.

Read more>>>Red-faced ducks bow their heads en masse — visitors joke: they’re reflecting, drowned for an hour


▲ The red-faced ducks deflated and lay flat on the water. (Photo / Provided by Hualien County Government)

When they deflated yesterday, the larger red-faced duck also accidentally took in too much water into its belly, preventing it from being reinflated. After staff slowly drained the water from inside the duck and reinflated it, the big red-faced duck finally lifted its head to greet visitors again. Su I-shun, director of Hualien County Government’s Tourism Department, stated that the deflation of the red-faced duck family this time was due to an abnormality in the power supply system. After vendors and department staff urgently investigated the cause and carried out rescue efforts, the ducks were restored and back on display for the public by the afternoon of the same day. The 16 ducks will remain on display at Liyu Lake until the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In addition, the photography contest for the red-faced duck exhibition is accepting submissions until August 20th. Whether it’s scenic photos of the red-faced ducks or endlessly creative KUSO shots, upload your photos to the red-faced duck Facebook page for a chance to win prizes totaling over NT$40,000.