MSU police led a dramatic duck rescue May 8 on MSU’s campus.
Around 8 a.m., a mother duck attempted to lead her 11 ducklings across West Shaw Lane near Red Cedar Road. While the mother duck and one duckling crossed successfully, 10 ducklings fell into a storm sewer.
Jamie Fadly, MSU police officer, and Andrea Beasinger, MSU police sergeant, saw confusion when they arrived on the scene.
“At first, we were puzzled as to why so many people were looking down into a storm drain,” Fadly said. “Once we saw the ducklings in the drain and the mother duck wandering in the street, we began to help control traffic and get them out.”
While Fadly and Beasinger helped manage traffic, other MSU employees helped remove the ducklings from the drain. Cherrie Perkins, food science and human nutrition; Tim Moore, Douglas June, Dean Fischer, infrastructure planning and facilities, also were part of the rescue operation.
Using a “duck bucket,” a plastic bucket with holes drilled into it, the rescue team lowered it into the storm drain. With a little prodding – some whistling and possibly some quacking – the rescuers lifted all of the ducklings to safety.
The duck family was last seen happily waddling south – steering clear of all storm drains.