The farmers knew that rats don't infest paddy fields, and that the little egret which habitually stalks rice paddies is only after insects; so the omnivorous wild ducks which visit the Hsiukuluan River's banks from September onwards became the prime suspects.
老鼠不會肆虐水田，平時就愛落腳稻田的鷺鷥也只吃魚蝦；因此，每年九月後翩然造訪秀姑巒溪畔，且葷素不忌的雁鴨，成了最大的嫌疑犯。