Sometimes They Go Too Far

One of the $8-10,000 bronze ducks on the Boston Common has been stolen. And it turns out this is not the first time, according to the Boston Globe:

Pack, the second-to-last of Mrs. Mallard’s storied eight ducklings in the cherished “Make Way for Ducklings” sculpture in the Public Garden, was stolen sometime between Sunday night and yesterday morning, cut off at the base of its bronze webbed feet.

City officials consider the theft no prank, and have threatened to bring criminal charges of larceny of public art against anyone who stole the prized duckling.

The story goes on to wonder whether the ducks are being stolen for the value of the bronze. Since 1987 when the statues were first placed in the Common, four separate ducks have been stolen. Some have been discovered. But so far the City of Boston has shown a little more restraint than the Chinese government in their attempts to see a safe return of their bronze animal statues.

Update: The duck is not amock. The Boston Herald reports that it was found: “The statue was found at about 3 a.m. at Brimmer and Mt. Vernon streets, said Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll. ‘The lost duck statue from the Boston Common has been found and is safe and sound,’ Driscoll wrote in an e-mail. Driscoll said it’s unclear when the statue will be returned. For now, it is being kept at a Boston police station.”