California Officer Uses Cell Phone To Save Baby Ducks

HAYWARD, CA — An animal control officer's quick-thinking in Hayward, California, helped save a family of ducks that had fallen down a storm drain Thursday.

A mother duck was escorting her 12 ducklings across the Chabot College campus when 11 of them fell into the nearby drain, the Hayward Police Department said in a news release. The mama duck's distressed quacking caught the notice of a passerby who contacted the college's maintenance staff.

By the time a staff member was able to open the storm drain, the ducklings had moved farther down into the pipes and animal control authorities were called.

Officer Susan Perez, who is “familiar with rescuing a variety of animals that have fallen into storm drains,” coaxed the ducklings out of the drain, police said in the news release.

Her best trick to persuade the ducks out of the drain?

She used her cell phone to play mother duck sounds.

The ducklings were reunited with their mother, and the family waddled away to safety.