Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/ducklings-drain/
On April 24th, a family of ducks reached the news after a police officer from Bellevue rescued them from a storm drain. A mother duck and her nine ducklings were crossing the street to get to the wetlands — not knowing the dangerous trap waiting for them. As the ducklings waddled across the street, they dropped in between the drain’s grates.
On that Sunday afternoon in Bellevue Downtown Park, a patrolling policeman swiftly took action to save the little ones. Officer Lambert noticed the mother duck’s quacks for help and checked the current situation. As soon as he realized what was happening, he popped open the storm drain — scooping all nine ducks safely back onto the sidewalk.
Ofc Lambert sprung into action today saving ducklings who’d fallen in a storm drain near Downtown Park. Momma duck was frantically quacking for help. Lambert saved 9 ducklings in all! pic.twitter.com/ZRk0V4mHN5
— Bellevue, WA Police (@BvuePD) April 24, 2022
The Bellevue police department uploaded a nineteen-second video on Twitter. It showed how Officer Lambert reached inside the drain for the ducklings. The tweet garnered over a hundred thousand views — including numerous replies, retweets, and likes. A photo after the rescue operation was also uploaded on the Twitter account — the family of ducks back together and waddling off to some new adventure.
Here’s the happy family, no doubt heading to the pond to get clean. pic.twitter.com/ZwoyMzN6YS
— Bellevue, WA Police (@BvuePD) April 24, 2022
Netizens shared their own insights about what happened. One Twitter user replied, “Not the first time I’ve witnessed Bellevue officers going out of their way for baby ducks.” Apparently, the storm drain accident often happens during springtime. Three days after the incident, the police department shared another tweet about saving more ducklings out of the drain.
An online post from Rutgers Wildlife Conservation and Management shared how to help ducklings out of the sewer. They shared the right tools to open a drain grate — a long steel rod or crowbar will do. Concerned citizens can utilize a kitchen strainer to safely scoop the ducklings back to their mothers. You can also call your local sewer authority, the police, or the fire department for the rescue operation.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
