It’s that time of year again, when new additions to the fowl family stray into uncharted territory, often with life-threatening consequences.
Case in point was Monday afternoon in a quiet residential street in Richmond, where nine out of 11 waddling ducklings had fallen into a storm drain.
To their distressed mom – who was letting the whole neighbourhood know of her babies’ peril, close to Granville and Garden City Road – it likely seemed that all was lost.
Residents to the rescue
That was until the residents of Sills Avenue jumped into action to save the day, armed only with a plastic broom/shovel and a cardboard box.
After lifting the heavy drain lid, 79-year-old John Ng spent about 10 minutes trying to gently coax each frightened duckling onto his shovel, before slowly hoisting each one of them to safety.
All the time, their worried mom was pacing in the bushes, watching for signs her babies were safe, while looking after the two who hadn’t gone for a premature swim.
Babies reunited with their mom
The residents helping with the rescue also had to prevent the recovered ducklings from jumping back into the drain, gently collecting them into the cardboard box, before finally reuniting them with their mom and siblings.
“I was at home and then someone who was helping me clean my home called me to say that we need to call the BCSPCA,” said John’s daughter, Shirley, who said that the local SPCA office was closed when she called.
“She noticed that a bunch of ducklings had fallen into a storm drain outside my townhouse.
“We had to stop the traffic while my father rescued the babies.
“And they all waddled away happily ever after. I felt so happy. The mommy duck’s love was so powerful.”
And “with Mother’s Day coming up, it was perfect,” added Shirley, a mother herself and an early childhood educator.
