India, Nov. 9 -- Two domesticated ducklings appeared out of the blue at the regulator end of the Sukhna lake last week. Though walkers tried hard to get the ducklings to take to water, the little ones were not interested. Strangely, the stray dogs, too, were not interested in gobbling the juicy tidbits. The ducklings had been surreptitiously released at the lake. The possibility of it being the handiwork of those who want domesticated ducks back at the lake cannot be ruled out. Public memory is short but recall those ghastly days of December 2014 when 150 such domesticated ducks/geese were culled by dislocating their necks and by clubbing them to death following the detection of the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) of the H5N1 strain in a dead duck. Just prior to the cull, 35 ducks / geese had died mysteriously causing alarm bells to ring in VVIP residences neighbouring the lake. The lake was closed to all visitors for a month following the cull. The forest and wildlife department did not allow reintroduction of domesticated ducks. Domesticated ducks are highly susceptible to avian influenza. Migratory waterfowl, which winter at the lake, are carriers of avian influenza and pass it on to domesticated ducks. Those lobbying for the reintroduction of domesticated ducks as a ''tourist attraction'' are virtually signing the death warrant for these innocent birds, apart from endangering other life forms, nearby poultry and humans. An affliction of avian influenza in reintroduced domesticated ducks will require another cull. Two adult domesticated ducks were also seen at the lake in recent years. One was killed by dogs while the other one is still at large.The undesirable presence of the adult and ducklings at the lake has been brought to the notice of the chief wild-life warden....