The world’s rarest ducks have bred in the wild, reaching a milestone in a project to establish a new population sooner than expected, conservationists have said. With a speed that has surprised scientists, Madagascar pochards that were bred and reared in captivity and released a year ago on Lake Sofia, in the north of the African island nation, have produced ducklings. Conservationists from Durrell, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Asity Madagascar and the Aga Khan Foundation, in partnership with the Madagascar Ministry of Environment, have been working to improve Lake Sofia to provide a home for the ducks.