The case of Cultus Lake Provincial Park duck statue鈥檚 missing head turns out to be no mystery at all.

鈥淎re you aware that the head has been stolen off of the loon sculpture that marks the beginning of Cultus Lake Provincial Park by Entrance Bay?鈥� a Chilliwack Progress reader asked on Wednesday. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 happened before.鈥�

Jumping on this act of vandalism and/or theft, this reporter asked some questions on Facebook. But it turned out the reader was wrong about two things.

Firstly, no, it鈥檚 not a loon, it鈥檚 a merganser (type of duck).

Secondly, the merganser鈥檚 head is off for repairs.

BC Parks staff asked Chilliwack woodworker Jeremy Sibley to add some TLC and reinstall the head of the iconic sculpture that was erected in 1998.

鈥淛ust in case you were wondering where the head of the Cultus Lake merganser was, it鈥檚 in my shop getting some much needed repair,鈥� Sibley said on his Instagram account (watermilkwine_designs). 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry, he will be back in place soon to greet you at #cultuslake park. #bcparks #chilliwack #yarrowbc #cultuslake #cultuslakelife.鈥�

Sibley told The Progress that decades of being outside had led to deterioration in the wood. He brought it to his shop and has added some spacers to fill in where the wood was rotted, and used epoxy to fill in more obvious holes.

The duck鈥檚 head was apparently on the ground next to the statue at the park鈥檚 entrance, but because of the rot inside, it鈥檚 unclear if it was actually vandalism or simply an inevitable reality. It is a popular spot for people to stop to take photos, sometimes silly ones involving climbing on top.

Sibley鈥檚 plan is to remount the head with steel support rods on Friday to keep it from falling off again.

As for the type of bird depicted by the original artist, local bird expert Christian Lodders explained.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a red-breasted merganser, a bird that鈥檚 almost never found on Cultus,鈥� Lodders said. 鈥淎 common merganser would have been a more appropriate choice, since they鈥檙e鈥� common.鈥�

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