El Asesino

Proud Parents

I arrived home on Tuesdayafter a long day at the clinic. We´ve been organizing eyeglasses for the past 2 and a half weeks. We can see the light, but it´s still pretty far off. We had done the usual routine-stopped at the internet, cruised around the town square-before returning just after dark to sit down for dinner. I sat down, joked quickly with Ben, and dug into my soup. However, Ben quickly informed me of the most recent development in the world of our pet ducks, Condor and Puma. Apparently Ben came home to find Condor, the smaller of the two, floating in the make-shift pond in their playpen.

We immediately felt like horrible fathers. How could this have happened? We built them a fenced in yard with a swimming pool and a house, and fed them everyday. Is it possible for a duck to drown? Were the chickens in the yard part of some chicken-mafia with a hatred for ducks? Or was it a cat, dog, or other random animal roaming the streets of Calca?

I went out the next morning to see the deceased and pay my respects, and to investigate the crime scene. Condor had some blood under his beak and on the right side of his neck. It was in the same place that we had witnessed Puma biting him the first weekend we brought them home. Puma has always been bigger than Condor. The blood and the previous bite marks lead me to believe that Condor was murdered by Puma.

The Victim

We were disappointed, especially because we were excited to give the grown ducks to our host Rocío´s mother for her birthday at the end of February. It´s going to be a feast-chickens, cuy, and hopefully one duck, whose name is now El Asesino.