Firefighters In Michigan Rescue Two Ducklings From Storm Drain, Searched 90 Minutes For The Third

Firefighters in Green Oak Township, Michigan displayed amazing tenacity and compassion when they rescued two ducklings that had fallen into a storm drain on Tuesday. Captain Tracy Chamberlain and Jerry Skop, a Green Oak firefighter, responded to a call from a citizen around 2 pm. The caller said that three ducklings had fallen into a storm drain near the entrance to Costco when they were following their mother. Mary Mahar heard frantic duckling chirping coming from the storm drain, and realized that at least one of the ducklings had fallen in.

Fire Chief William Steele told the Livingston Daily, “We removed the drain grate and saw three ducklings about 15 feet down into the storm drain.” During the duckling rescue, the firefighters were called away on a medical emergency, but returned after that call to finish the job. The firefighters made a tool by connecting fishnet to poles with duct tape and tried to scoop them up. The ducklings got skittish and went into a nearby drain. The amazingly patient rescue crew waited for the ducklings to come back into the opening. Once rescued, Mary Mahar wrapped the two ducklings in an afghan. Unfortunately, the third duckling was unable to be located. Firefighters believe the third duckling was swept away. They didn’t give up without a diligent effort, though. The crew searched other drains for over an hour and a half.

“We didn’t know where the (last) duckling went,” Steele told Livingston Daily. “We waited 90 minutes and were not able to relocate it (and) he didn’t come back out…. We checked other drains, about half a dozen, in the immediate area but unfortunately, we weren’t able to locate it.”

As if the efforts weren’t enough, the firefighters then tried to locate the mother duck and present to her the rescued ducklings, but the search was futile. Livingston County, Michigan is fortunately blessed with the Howell Conference and Nature Center. Volunteers there accepted the ducklings into their haven when Mahar transported them to the wildlife center. The center’s clinic said that the ducklings are “staying indoors and keeping a lone wild turkey chick company.”

The center’s press page stated that orphans like these ducklings are brought to the center each year by the hundreds. The busiest time is May, June and July, which they call “Baby Season.” The Nature Center relies significantly on donations in addition to their summer camps and conference center rental income to provide the services to animals in the community. The center will release the ducklings rescued by the firefighters later this summer.

[Photos via the Howell Nature Center’s Facebook Page]