A mama duck was in need of help after her babies were in trouble.
Luckily, a California couple were on their way to lunch and jumped at the chance.
Crystal Guinnane and her husband Gary were on their way to grab a bite in their hometown of Manteca when they saw a stressed mama duck, Guinnane told McClatchy News in a phone interview July 9.
@thatonegirl209 On our way to lunch today we noticed a mama duck out in the 85° heat standing in the road quacking and looking visibly distressed at a storm drain grate. My mama heart told me that something was wrong and I had a feeling that she had lost her babies inside of the storm drain. We pulled over and my husband looked down the grate and noticed that they were babies trying to jump out, he pulled the grate off and climbed into the storm drain. there were a total of eight baby ducks inside that were alive. We were able to save all eight of them. But one of them was unfortunately already dead. And part two of the reunion and what happened to one of the ducks next. #an#animalrescuee#rescuea#babyducks Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara) – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Daniel Pemberton
The nine ducklings were stuck at the bottom of a sewer drain after falling through the grates, a TikTok video Guinnane posted July 8 showed.
“We live by Bass Pro Shop and they have a big lake in front,” Guinnane said. “We go there often and every spring there’s ducklings so we always go see them. We weren’t expecting babies in the summer.”
After turning the corner, Guinnane saw the mother duck standing by the grate in the middle of the street, frantically quaking.
“I just felt that mom instinct in me,” the mother of a 6-year-old boy said. “I just knew something was wrong.”
The woman’s “mama heart” told her that the duck was waiting for her babies.
After expressing the worries to her husband, the man “pulled over, lifted the grate up, jumped down there.”
Typically, wildlife officials tell the public to leave baby animals alone, McClatchy News reported.
“If you encounter a baby animal that is hurt or sick, call your local wildlife rehabilitation center or the nearest fish and game office,” McClatchy News reported.
Guinnane’s husband, however, plucked the babies out of the drain while she pushed them toward their mother.
“There were nine babies down there but one had died,” she said, “It was hiding under the little stairs to the grate.”
After the rescue mission was completed, the couple went to lunch and made their way to the pond to see how the duck family was doing.
“My husband counted all the ducks and we realized there were only seven,” Guinnane said. “After looking in the bushes for the other duck, my husband took off to look for it and he found it squished in the parking lot.”
Although two of the ducks didn’t survive, Guinnane said the couple will be checking every crate they see for lost baby ducks.
TikTok users agreed the heartfelt rescue was worthy of praise.
“I literally wish you the absolute best in life, you guys are amazing,” one person said.
“Not all heroes wear capes,” another person said.
Manteca is 60 miles south of Sacramento.
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