Long Island officers use YouTube app to reunite ducklings with mama duck
MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (WPIX) – Long Island police officers rescued a group of ducklings that had fallen through a sewer grate in Massapequa on Saturday, officials said.
Officers received a 911 call about an agitated mother duck dangerously walking into traffic on Old Sunrise Highway because her four baby ducklings had fallen into the sewer.
Upon arrival, officers could hear the ducklings in distress below ground, about 8 feet down.
Police were unable to see them and they were unable to remove the sewer grate to retrieve the ducklings, sources said.
It took four patrol officers and two Emergency Service Unit officers working together to retrieve the ducklings. Together they traced the paths of the sewer systems to a nearby reservoir where they could hear the ducklings in distress.
The officers then utilized the YouTube app on their phones to play a series of mother duck calls to lure the ducklings to the opening. All four ducklings responded to the sounds and waddled their way to safety.
Officers cleaned them up and reunited the ducklings with their mother in a nearby creek.