Five Ducklings Rescued From Sewer After Falling Through Grate

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Five ducklings were rescued in front of the Waterworks Cinema after a four hour rescue that involved popcorn, sewer pipes and goose calls.

Animal Care And Control officers say they responded to the cinema around 9:30 a.m. after a man said he saw a duck and her ducklings walking through the parking lot.

He said he saw several ducklings fall through the openings of a sewer grate.

When two officers arrived, they removed the grate cover and lowered a net to the bottom of the sewer where they believed three ducklings were hiding in the pipes.

The officers said they grabbed popcorn from the movie theater and began whistling, hoping to lure the ducks out. One man on the scene used a goose call to draw out the ducklings.

The first two ducklings waddled their way out at 10:30. They were placed in a cage and set near the bushes where the mother was last seen.

The officers said they hoped the chirping of the two duckling would convince the third duckling to come out from its hiding spot.

The last duckling was reportedly a shy little guy who refused to exit the pipe.

So, in attempt to show how friendly the officers were, they lowered the cage with the duckling's siblings inside.

After hearing the chirping of its siblings, it came out of the pipes, too.

But the rescue attempt didn't end there. It turns out there were two more ducks who had yet to be rescued.

The officers removed the grate again at 1:30 p.m. and caught the two last ducklings.

Now all the ducklings are at Humane Animal Rescue Wildlife Center in Verona. The mamma duck hasn't returned.