A speeding duck has set off a traffic camera in the Swiss town of Köniz, mirroring a near-identical incident seven years earlier.
On April 13, 2025, the mallard was recorded flying at 52 kilometers per hour (about 32 mph) in a 30 kilometers per hour zone (18.6 mph), triggering a speed enforcement camera intended for motorists.
On April 13, 2018, precisely seven years ealier, a very similar-looking duck was caught by the same camera traveling at the exact same speed.
“A duck had indeed been caught in the speed trap again, seven years to the day later, in the exact same place and traveling at exactly the same speed,” reads a statement from the Municipality of Köniz. Officials describe the bird as a “notorious speeder and repeat offender.”
Local police insist the story is not a hoax, emphasizing that the radar system cannot be tampered with. The cameras are calibrated and inspected annually by Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS), and the images are sealed against manipulation.
“We hope you enjoy pondering curious coincidences, criminal activities of animals, and the maximum flight speed of ducks,” the municipality writes in a Facebook post.
Officials have not announced any penalties for the airborne violator. Some commenters online have jokingly demanded to know what consequences the “racer duck” will face. For now, the mystery remains unresolved, but it has provided a moment of comic relief.
Animals and Remote Cameras
This is not the first time an animal has been caught messing with an automatic camera: in 2023, a government agency in Colorado received a surprise when it checked on a wildlife trail camera and found that out of hundreds of photos captured, a majority of them were “bear selfies.”
Of course, photographers often set up camera traps in remote areas in the hope of capturing unique pictures. Last month, PetaPixel reported on photographer Will Burrard-Lucas who spent 12 months operating remote cameras deep in the Congo rainforest to reveal some of the region’s most elusive species in breathtaking detail.
Image credits: Gemeinde Köniz
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