mmg.com.au

There’s an unofficial superhero at Shepparton’s Emerald Bank Adventure Park.

Most know him as Neville, but The News likes to call him ‘‘Duck Dog’’.

Neville the muscovy duck has canine tendencies.

He pants like a dog and wags his tail with excitement as he runs around the park.

But for Neville, his superhero days are behind him, after being contained to a cage with companion/arch-nemesis Rosie the duck.

‘‘He used to roam around in the original days, but he would peck at your legs, he was a nuisance really,’’ adventure park owner-manager Dianne Scott said.

‘‘We don’t let him have a lot of contact with visitors now he’s in the cage, because a lot of the kids were freaked by him really.

‘‘Rosie and Neville are not together, but she’s just had ducklings.’’

The muscovy duck likes to eat grain and is fed bread as a treat.

Ms Scott said Neville was brought to the park by a local teenager when he grew too big for her backyard.

Neville’s age is unknown, but she thinks he could be only a few years old.

Mrs Scott said that Neville was hand-reared from a duckling, which could explain why he liked to be close to humans and acted like a dog.

‘‘They want to be part of our lives and be around people and have human contact,’’ Ms Scott said.

Back when Neville was free as a bird, wandering around the park, he would follow the staff around.

Unfortunately, he did not take like a duck to water when staff coaxed him towards the lake.

‘‘We tried to put him on the lake a few times, but he didn’t want to swim,’’ Ms Scott said.