8 Baby Ducklings Rescued In 'Dramatic' Peninsula Operation

SAN MATEO, CA — Eight baby ducklings are resting and recovering Wednesday, two days after being pulled from a storm drain in San Mateo. Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA officials say the babies were found trapped in mud, locked under a storm drain near the 101 freeway.

"We were alerted to the plight of the ducklings by a motorist who saw a mother duck pacing around the area," said PHS/SPCA’s Communications Manager Buffy Martin Tarbox. "The driver pulled over and spotted the ducklings trapped in the mud at the bottom of the ditch and called us."

The local rescue organization sent a crew to the scene. The suited up and got down and dirty in the storm drain to help free the ducklings in a "dramatic rescue," according to officials.

But though the babies were all saved, the mother duck flew away and didn't return — prompting the PHS/SPCA to bring them back to their Wildlife Care Center.

"After the ducklings had been rescued, our staff waited to see if the mother duck would return, but unfortunately she did not," Tarbox said. "The ducklings would not have survived on their own in the wild. Once they are older and self-sufficient, we will return them to the wild."

Tarbox said it's not unusual for mother ducks to be "capricious" and abandon their babies if they get spooked.

"Wild ducklings are extremely vulnerable to predators and drowning without the protection of their mother," she said.

The babies have adapted well to their new surroundings, though, and are being cared for with other ducklings at the care center.

Photos courtesy: Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA