Nine ducklings rescued from storm drain

Nine ducklings were rescued after falling into a storm drain. The drain was located on Pratt Street, across from the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

The mama duck was seen by onlookers pacing back and forth as she watched more and more rainwater fill the drain. Time was running out. After it looked like all hope was lost, the heroes appeared!

Workers from the Department of Public Works, Baltimore City Animal Control, and Maryland Animal Cruelty used a crowbar and a pry bar to get the drain open.

This was especially difficult as there was a car covering the drain inlet.

A net was lowered into the drain by an animal control worker and carefully moved around like the claw in the crane machines at the arcade.

On the first full net scoop, about five duck babies were saved and put into a Target bag. On the second, three were saved and placed into the Target bag. That leaves one baby duck sibling.

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The crew assumed stated the last duckling maybe distraught, missing its mom and siblings who had been taken by a weird alien apparatus. To calm the duck, Matthew Phillips, a worker with DPW, played a video on his phone called “Cute Ducklings Peeping.”

However, there was no luck and no duck on the third scoop.

As serendipity would have it, the owner of the car came back. She moved her car at an angle that would allow the inlet to be moved fully out of the way. Phillips lowered himself fully into the drain. He attempted to save the final duck. Again, no luck. He couldn’t see where it was without sufficient light.

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Minutes later, the crew was able to save the last duck. After they were all secured in the Target bag, they were gently placed back into the net and lowered back into the harbor with mom.