Since the 1980s, hundreds of ducks have patrolled Vergenoegd Löw The Wine Estate outside Cape Town, South Africa. It’s a centuries-old practice that helps keep the vineyard free of pests.

Today, the winery “employs” some 1,600 Indian Runner ducks – a flightless species with a peculiarly upright stance and highly developed sense of smell. As ducks cruise around the vineyard grounds, they eat pests such as snails, fertilizing the ground as they go.

The ducks aren’t always at work; they do get “annual leave” from the winery during harvest, to prevent them from eating the grapes. During that time, they forage on an open farm pasture, swim in a nearby lake, and undergo selective breeding, according to Corius Visser, Vergenoegd Löw’s managing director.

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