An arrow-like object has been discovered piercing a duck's back in a Tokyo pond, police said.
The duck was seen in a pond in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, Tokyo, and police and park officials tried to catch the duck using a net, but failed to do so as it started to fly around, they said.
A passerby first reported the duck's condition to the Mitaka Police Station's Inokashira Park regional security center at about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, said a senior official at the police station.
The bird did not appear to have been weakened by the object, according to the police.
On Wednesday, police and park officials searched the park for the duck, but were not able to find it.
The police suspect someone shot the bird and is investigating the case on suspicion of a violation of the wildlife protection law.
According to the Tama environment office of the Tokyo metropolitan government's Environment Bureau, the bird, believed to be a spot-billed duck, could have flown into the park's pond from somewhere else.
"We'd like to protect the bird swiftly and give it a treatment, then return it to the wild," said an official from the environment office.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
