ducklings out of water
With Spring in full bloom, we're going to bring the cuteness rating up a bit and feature baby animals over the next several days, including a few of the more serious issues facing some of them. To start things off on a happy note, I couldn't resist passing along a true story from my friends at Animal Education and Rescue in Lake County, Illinois about a rescue which was unique even for them!
Last week a momma duck decided to head towards a small lake with her newly walking baby ducklings. To her horror, as she leads them towards a busy intersection in Libertyville, she lead her babies directly over a sewer drain where one after the other, eight in total, dropped to the bottom of the drain.
She stood over the drain quacking at her babies, trying in vain to get them to come out. They all chirped back to her, frantic to be released from their dark hole. Little did these ducks know, but they had fallen into their dilemma right in front of the AEAR offices, and just when the director Sandy and her husband Chuck where in the front, along with some volunteers.
One of the volunteers, Christy, noticed the momma duck standing by a sewer hole and looking down at it making all sorts of noise. The duck was on the edge of a busy street, nowhere near water. Something wasn't right, she thought.
Christy called to Sandy and pointed to the bird. It took Sandy seconds to realize what had happened. Sandy called Chuck over, and they began the work of freeing the babies while keeping mom out of the street. Chuck heaved the 150-pound cover off the sewer and one by one reached in and grabbed a baby duck and handed it to Sandy or Christy. Meanwhile, Sandy was directing traffic away from the momma duck because she continued to go in and out of the busy street, trying to scare us away from her babies.
All the ducklings were placed in a cat carrier, and finally after much sweat and hard work, the last one joined his siblings. Momma duck followed the crate with the chirping babies to the side of the offices, at which time the AEAR staff tried in vain to catch her.
After 45 minutes of trying to catch her, Sandy suggested that they have the mom follow them to the pond four blocks away. "She's following the cat carrier. I think it's our only option."
"She'll get hit by a car," Chuck said.
"No, she won't because you'll lead the way with the catchpole in front of you, and I'll hold the carrier."
So began the long and stress-filled walk to the pond. Cars slowed to watch the procession of the man with the catchpole extended in front of him, the woman carrying a cat carrier and the little brown duck waddling behind. It was a sight to be seen.
After another 45 minutes, they made it safely to the pond where Mom waited for her babies to be released from the cage. One by one, the ducklings scurried out, and in single file followed their mom into the water.
It was a good day. And that duck family was lucky to find themselves stuck in front of a place where, whether wild or tame, animals are saved!
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As if that wasn't heart lifting enough, here are a couple more duckling rescue stories which were in the news. The first involves another storm drain rescue, but this time with the aid of the local fire department (courtesy WISN and CNN). And the second recalls the children's classic Make Way for Ducklings, set in the middle of a city and involving a kindhearted banker (courtesy ABC News):
Another rescue story was passed along by Sharon Sigethy Coughlin, about a woman who braved busy traffic to save 14 ducklings. And while the following story of the connection which formed between a little boy suffering the effects of a stroke and a duckling with a wounded leg doesn't involve a rescue per se, I can assure you it will warm your heart:
(Many thanks to Sandy Kamen Wisniewski and also Christy and Chuck of Animal Education and Rescue for sharing their story with us, originally published as "AEAR Comes To Rescue of Momma Duck and Babies" in an AEAR newsletter. Please look them up and support their dedicated work should you live in or near Lake County, Illinois. Photo copyright Michael Klenetsky/123rf.com.)
April 28, 2010
Reader Comments (2)
With a smile on my face I have read all your duck stories! Two years ago we rescued a related member of the duck family - an Egyptian Goose now named "Bubbles". After being separated from her family (the part of her story I know nothing about) my cats chased her up the farm driveway...she dived under a low lying rose bush and we were able to recover her from there. It is an amazing story and perhaps one I can share with you at a later stage. Bubbles is an amazing creature who tramps freely through the house whenever she chooses and takes her naps alongside the dogs on the carpet in the lounge as part of the family :)
Thank you for the work you do to keep Not One Sparrow alive and functioning.
God bless you all
Cherie
Cherie, that's wonderful, about "Bubbles"! You're so compassionate to all the needy animals you come across, regardless of species, and I really admire that about you. Thanks very much for the comment, and the affirmation. I appreciate you and your work with BraveHearts very much as well - Ben