First Responders Save Ducklings From A Storm Drain

TheThings

By Helena Martin

Published Feb 17, 2019

Mother duck is thankful someone called 911

A concerned mother duck was relieved to have first responders help her babies out of the storm drain they fell into. In a video shared by the Animal Matters Facebook page, it appears that six of the seven ducklings had fallen into the drain, and the distressed mother duck was calling out to them in the hopes that they’d return. Thankfully, some first responders came to the scene.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that ducklings have been found in storm drains. As mother ducks lead their young to other ponds, some may wander off. Due to their size, it’s easy for them to fall into storm drains and they can’t get out. Luckily, some mothers are able to get the attention of people to help them retrieve their babies. With the help of some compassionate humans, the ducklings are reunited with their mother.

This mother duck was frantically quacking because her ducklings went missing. The grassy area where she wanted to lead her babies was beside a busy highway, so it was possible that the ducklings had wandered off a little too far and fell into the drain. From the video, it’s unknown who called the first responders, but they arrived on the scene to help. They opened the storm drains and gently fished around for the ducklings. Once they found them, they gently carried them over to their worried mother waiting by the grass. The ducklings somehow ended up in both storm drains on either side of the road.

The ducks were brought to the pond so they wouldn’t run into more danger. Luckily, these ducklings were easily found by first responders. Other duckling rescuers have had to use more creative tactics in the past to get them out of the drains. For example, last May, firefighters had to lure ducklings out of a drain using a recording of the call of their mother.

The ducklings are safe from harm and back to their mother after a traumatic experience in a storm drain. Since this seems to be a persistent problem, perhaps it would be beneficial if the storm drain holes are made smaller or have a finer mesh to prevent more ducklings from falling in. Mother ducks aren’t able to call 911 for help, so only the lucky ones get help from first responders.