When Glen Palahicky arrived at work this morning, something was off.
“I see this momma duck with three ducklings kind of hovering in our parking lot, near the manhole,” said Palahicky.
The strange sight made for some good water cooler talk with colleagues until there was a realization.
“He said ‘three ducklings? No no, there were 11 ducklings!'” said Palahickey.
They had discovered a duckling disaster. Eight day-old ducklings, small enough to squeeze through a storm drain’s slats, made a worrying freefall.
Palahicky and his colleagues cooked up a plan to get the ducklings out of the manhole.
“We were thinking of going to the P.E. department and getting the lacrosse sticks!” said Palahickey, who is a teacher at St. Andrews.
The lacrosse sticks were unnecessary, however, as animal control showed up with a bigger net.
Then, all of a sudden, the ducklings disappeared.
“We couldn’t see them. Then you get worried and think maybe nature took its course,” said Palahicky.
The minutes dragged by, and the moments were tense. Then, faint peeping, 30 metres away.
The ducklings had moved storm drains.
The team set up again, lowered their net, hoping for a happy outcome.
At first, one duckling was pulled up, then the second, third, and fourth.
These ragtag heroes, rescuing the whole brood.
“Well they didn’t turn around and say thank you, but they continued on and they seemed quite happy,” said Palahicky.
A duckling disaster averted, with these heroes getting their moment of pride as they watched the whole flock waddle to safety.
Kori Sidaway
