Lucky duckies saved after falling down Calgary storm drain

Eight fuzzy ducklings were rescued from a precarious situation on Friday, thanks to Calgary police and workers from the City of Calgary.

The ducklings had fallen through a private catch basin in the parking lot of the AutoClean Car Wash in Midnapore, and sat quacking at the bottom as their mother stood on the asphalt above, unable to help.

Andrea Stewart works in the nearby Midnapore Business Centre, which backs onto the parking lot, and says she and her colleagues rushed into action.

"One of our tenants came out at 9:30 a.m. to advise us that we had a problem that needed to be dealt with, and then informed us that he had just seen a mama duck and approximately 10 babies walking through the parking lot behind our building, and the babies fell down into the grate."

They called 311 and some local wildlife organizations while they stood over the drain to keep an eye on the ducklings in distress.

Calgary police were the first to arrive on scene, and were able to remove the grate.

Several ducklings that had become trapped in the Calgary community of Midnapore were rescued on Friday, June 2, 2023. "It took them a full 30 minutes to get the sewer grate lifted," said Jennifer Fraser, who works in the business centre.

It was determined there were eight ducklings stuck in the cavern, all of which were desperate to be reunited with their mother.

Luckily for the ducklings, the officer on scene actually had a background in biology.

"This officer, I think he knew exactly the right thing to do," Fraser said. "There had been a lot of onlookers crowding around and I think they were scaring the mom away, but once the officer arrived, he was able to encourage (the people) to sit back, let that mama come and call to her babies and I think that's what really did the trick."

The officer lowered himself into the slender drain, and was able to pick up one duck, placing it down in the parking lot and letting it race over to its mother.

Several ducklings that had become trapped in the Calgary community of Midnapore were rescued on Friday, June 2, 2023. The officer continued to save the stranded fowl, lifting five of the eight to safety, one by one.

"We were cheering –the whole waiting room upstairs was cheering – it was definitely a happy moment."

Several ducklings that had become trapped in the Calgary community of Midnapore were rescued on Friday, June 2, 2023. The remaining three ducklings proved more difficult to liberate, as they continued to run into a pipe connected to the basin, away from their would-be rescuers.

Several ducklings that had become trapped in the Calgary community of Midnapore were rescued on Friday, June 2, 2023. Eventually, workers from the City of Calgary's water services department were able to get the final three ducklings to freedom at around 2:30 p.m., roughly five hours after the ordeal began.

Several ducklings that had become trapped in the Calgary community of Midnapore were rescued on Friday, June 2, 2023.

At that point, the mother duck was nowhere to be found, but a citizen volunteered to take the duckings to a local wildlife centre. 

For more information on how to report abandoned, injured or orphaned wildlife, you can visit the City of Calgary's website.