LITTLE CHUTE, Wis. (WFRV) – What started as a routine drive through Little Chute quickly turned into a rescue mission after a group of ducklings got trapped in a storm drain.
Ashley Jared says she was driving with her mom when she spotted something unusual near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Sanitorium Road. A mother duck was anxiously pacing back and forth near a storm drain. That’s when Jared, an animal lover, decided to stop and check it out.
“I saw her walking around and my immediate thought was—there are babies down there,” Jared said. “And sure enough, there were about ten ducklings stuck inside the drain.”
Jared and her mom tried to lift the heavy storm grate but couldn’t budge it. While they waited for help, a We Energies worker—Adam Ditter—happened to finish a job nearby and noticed what was happening.
“She said they were down in there, about ten of them, so I said I’d pull over and lift the grate off,” Ditter said.
Ditter, who works as a natural gas mechanic, was able to lift the cover and climb inside the shallow drain. He carefully picked up each duckling and handed them to Jared, who returned them to their very relieved mother.
“This one was dry and shallow enough that I could put myself in and get them out, hand them to Ashley, then get them back reunited with their ma,” Ditter said.
It turns out this isn’t Ditter’s first time rescuing ducklings. Just a week earlier, he helped save another group trapped in a storm drain near downtown Appleton.
“You hate to see how anxious the mom duck is—wandering around waiting for her babies,” Ditter said. “And as soon as they’re reunited, they all take off together.”
Jared says the mother duck never left her side during the rescue.
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“She knew,” Jared said. “She didn’t leave until she had all ten of them. I stayed for about 20 minutes after everyone left and watched them walk up the hill together.”
Both Ditter and Jared say they’re just glad they were there to help, and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
