Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Venetian bogged down in quack-mire

Gondoliers ordered to stop feeding ducks that have settled in pool in front of casino

Gondola riders drift by a family of ducks that have resided in a concrete pool in front of The Venetian since March. Citing safety and cleanliness concerns, maintenance crews at The Venetian last week ordered gondoliers to stop feeding the ducks. Photo by John Locher.

For reasons perhaps only a duck could understand, a mother mallard and her seven chicks abandoned the shady lagoons of The Mirage, waddled across the Strip, and dropped into the chlorinated, concrete pool in front of The Venetian.

There, trapped by high walls and floating alongside miniature gondolas, the ducks have made a home of sorts this spring.

Since March, the ducks have been in the care of The Venetian's singing gondoliers, who have fattened the mottled brown ducks on Cheerios, nuts and cold cuts from the employee cafeteria.

Gondoliers recently saved two ducks after they swallowed debris they found in the water.

But fuzzy feelings took a back seat to business realities last week when The Venetian's maintenance crews ordered gondoliers to cease feeding the ducks.

Because they are still too young to fly, the decision leaves the ducks, who now number five after the unexplained disappearance of two chicks, without a regular source of food.

At least one gondolier protested the decision at an employee meeting on Thursday, according to a Venetian employee who asked not to be identified, and an employee wrote "Save the Ducks" across a posted memo announcing the decision.

"Someone is going to end up losing their job over these ducks," the employee said.

The decision to cut off the ducks is in stark contrast to some hotels which coddle their avian guests. At the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn., five mallards are escorted each morning across the hotel lobby to a special fountain reserved for their use.

Implications of indifference to the ducks seem to have gotten management's attention.

A representative of Best Agency, which runs the gondola service for The Venetian, directed duck-related questions to corporate headquarters on Monday. Gondoliers also refused to go on the record about the ducks, saying they had been reminded of their nondisclosure agreements.

The ducks on Monday appeared unperturbed by the controversy overhead. A few crouched in a sliver of shade while others pecked at a floating chunk of foam.

The ducks did not make a noticeable impression on gondola riders.

"I saw one duck, and it was just desperately trying to get out of the sun," said Jessica Stoneburner, in town on business from New York this week.

George Funderburk, a visitor from Charlotte, N.C., who rode a gondola with friends on Monday, was similarly unimpressed. "You got this guy singing, it's a romantic type thing, and then you got this duck," he said. "It just doesn't fit."

Read Scot, vice president of entertainment for Best Agency, says that, cute appearances aside, the ducks pose a threat to gondola riders.

"The ducks have started hopping up on the boats, and someone might become frightened and fall out," he said. Scot said the ducks have also brought more predictable results.

"This is a fantasy experience," Scot said. "We want to leave people with a pleasant memory, not remembering duck poop."

Venetian spokesman Ron Reese also cites safety and cleanliness concerns, and confirms that the ducks are no longer welcome at The Venetian. "We're not saying that the ducks are poking anyone's eyes out or anything, but our foremost concern is the health, safety and entertainment value of the guests."

Scot says Best Agency and The Venetian are trying to be sensitive to the concerns of gondoliers, one of whom reported that he recently captured a duck and pulled a half-swallowed balloon from its throat.

"There are several animal lovers among them, and some are just more extreme than others," Scot said. "We're simply telling them to follow the policy and to leave their personal issues at home."

Despite last week's hard-line decision, The Venetian has been kind to the ducks this spring.

According to gondoliers, maintenance crews stopped treating the pool with harsh chemicals in deference to the ducks' health. The outdoor Venetian pool, normally a crystal blue, has turned a murky green in recent weeks.

But Reese denies the ducks have been accommodated in this way.

"We don't necessarily want the ducks, and we're not doing anything to encourage them," he said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Jeri Krueger says The Venetian's duck problem may soon solve itself. According to Krueger, the ducks may already be old enough to fly and should soon seek greener habitats.

"They habituate to these areas because the food is there, the water is there," she said. "But any wild animal that can't find food will just move on."

Krueger says that if gondoliers are worried about the ducks, a rescue could easily be arranged. "They just have to catch them, put them in a cardboard box, and release them in the Las Vegas Wash," she said.