It might not have been the most dangerous or life-threatening rescue the RCMP has ever undertaken, but it’s definitely one of the most awww-worthy.
RCMP officers were recently called to the north end of Yarmouth, N.S., after a flock of ducklings fell through the grate of a storm sewer. The mother duck—who escaped the plunge—drew attention to the dire situation by squawking until passerby noticed the trapped ducklings.
Shortly after, the RCMP arrived at the scene. Once there, it was decided that Constable Gary Bartlett would be the one to execute the rescue plan by carefully scooping out the ducklings.
“I think I was the only one with arms long enough to reach,” Cst. Bartlett told The Vanguard.
Lying on the ground, flat on his stomach, Bartlett carefully grabbed each duck one by one. Inside the sewer, the ducklings had congregated on a rock together. Although Cst. Bartlett thought at one point they were going to lose one of the little guys, he managed to save all 11 of them.
Meanwhile, up on the mainland, the mother duck waited patiently as each duckling was retrieved and lifted to safety. With everyone accounted for, the mother led her ducklings to nearby water.
“In our line of work, there’s not a lot of happy endings,” Cst. Bartlett says. “But every now and again you get a good one.”
Needless to say, the rescue went swimmingly.
