Wanaka ducks can breathe easy over the reinstallation of signs warning motorists to watch out for the waddlers.
Two metal ''ducks crossing'' signs recently disappeared from Ardmore St, next to the lakefront in Wanaka, nine months after they were installed.
However, one of the signs has since resurfaced and is back in place at the Wanaka Showgrounds end of Pembroke Park, while a replacement for the other sign has been ordered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
Council communications manager Michele Poole said last week the recovered sign was found by council contractors on the roadside a couple of days after it went missing, about 60m from where it was originally installed.
''We can't speculate but it might be that somebody had an attack of conscience or somebody found it.''
The replacement sign for the other end of the park was expected to arrive this week.
Wanaka animal lover Karen Neilsen had campaigned to the council to install the signs last March in order to protect the many ducks and ducklings crossing Ardmore St.
She was ''absolutely thrilled'' the signs' absence was shortlived.
''I get a bit of stick about the duck crossing signs but I refer to them as duck awareness signs.''
