A male paradise duck guards 11 of his ducklings at the Water of Leith on the University of Otago campus in Dunedin. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
Otago Fish & Game operations manager Ian Hadland said it was common for paradise ducks to have a brood of up to 16.
However, raising a large brood to fledglings in a city was challenging because of the number of cats living in urban areas.
The paradise duck was protected outside the duck shooting season in New Zealand.
Paradise ducks mated for life, but if one of the mates died then the survivor would find another for the next breeding season, Mr Hadland said.
