SITTING DUCKS: A pair of Puna teals rest on the totora reeds surrounding Lake Titicaca.MOFFATT PHOTOGRAPHY
A Peruvian man from the floating man-made islands on Lake Titicaca uses a long pole to steer his wooden boat through the reeds. His son crouches on the bow, scanning the water’s surface with a flashlight. The father, a member of the Uro people, silently maneuvers the boat towards an unsuspecting blue-billed Puna teal while his son readies a hand net. With a quick swipe, the boy hauls the duck into the boat, and by 3:00 a.m. they deliver six ducks to the researchers waiting back on shore. The Puna teal is one of many resident waterfowl species inhabiting the Andean altiplano. At nearly 4,000 meters, oxygen levels are only about 65 percent of what they are at sea level, but the bird seems oblivious ...
