By JOHN DEMPSEY
Tribune staff writer
May 15, 2008 12:01 am
—
A young Kokomo mother nearly lost a number of members of her family in downtown Tuesday night.
A female mallard duck and her 13 ducklings appeared to be touring the downtown area when several of the youngsters slipped through the grates of a storm sewer at Mulberry and Walnut streets.
While Mother Duck let it be known her family was in trouble, several people came to the family’s rescue. Rocky Fletcher, with help from Bryan Pickett and Veronica Stout, safely delivered the ducklings from the storm sewer, placing them in a box for their safety.
They originally planned to take them to Foster Park for release, but Momma Duck refused to go along with that plan. Instead, she ended up leading her 13 little ones — with help from some onlookers — down Union Street to the Wildcat Creek.
The journey wasn’t without further incident, as three of the ducklings had to be rescued from a second incident with a storm sewer. Eventually, the family made it to the safety of the creek without any losses.
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Photos
FALLING THROUGH THE QUACKS: With Mother Duck voicing her concern in the background, Bryan Pickett and Veronica Stout help Rocky Fletcher as he rescues nearly a dozen ducklings from a storm sewer at the intersection of Mulberry and Union streets Tuesday night. KT photo by Erik Markov
SAFE HAVEN: As he got them out, Rocky Fletcher put the ducklings into a box for safe keeping. KT photo by Erik Markov