Adorable Ducklings Rescued From Storm Drain, Reunited With Mother

A mother duck was finally reunited with her 11 ducklings after they got stuck in a storm drain, according to a Canadian fire department.

The Oromocto Fire Department said it was notified after a man, who was walking near the Oromocto Mall in New Brunswick, found the ducklings inside a storm drain on Wednesday.

Firefighters and members from the Oromocto Engineering and Public Works and Water and Sewer Department.

A statement on the fire department's Facebook page read: "At 08:40 a.m., the Oromocto Fire Department received a call from a gentleman who was walking in the area of the Oromocto Mall."

It added: "After doing an assessment of the air quality in the pipes, it was determined it was safe for a member to enter and remove the ducklings. A total of 11 ducks were removed from the drain and have been reunited with the mother in the Oromocto River."

Photos uploaded along the statement showed the ducklings being safely removed and placed into a cardboard box for transportation to the river.

A final image showed the little ducklings following behind their mother as they navigated their way through the river.

Dylan Chase, one of the firefighters who were at the site, told Global News: "Mother duck was standing there. We lifted up the drain and we saw one duckling there but we knew there's going to be some more. We couldn't find them earlier because there's a lot of gunk."

He later added: "It's definitely a fun rescue and maybe a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity."

The rescue is remarkably similar to another duckling rescue that happened in California earlier this year.

In April, 11 ducklings were rescued from a storm drain where they were languishing until they were saved by Hayward Animal Control officer Susan Perez.

She told Newsweek, in a moment of brilliance, she played a recording of a mother duck vocalizing "to draw [the ducklings] closer to her."

It's a technique that she has used many times to coax feral kittens out of car engines.

"The more you try to reach into an engine to pull out a kitten, the higher the risk of injury to the kitten and to the animal control officer," she said.

"So, one day I decided to use the app and I played 'mom cat sounds calling to her kittens,' and POOF! The kitten's meow changed its tone and it climbed out on its own, saw me, and ran off into the bushes nearby."

Sure enough, the ducklings emerged from the pipes one by one, and Perez was able to catch them easily.