NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. ― Paramedics and police officer captured and transported a group of orphaned ducklings.
New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps paramedics, Ryan Burnet and Harold Green, were returning from an emergency scene when they saw a mallard struck by a vehicle and her frightened ducklings scattered across a busy road.
Burnet and Green stopped their vehicle and proceeded to capture the six baby mallards, one by one. A New Windsor Police Officer also joined the high-speed foot pursuit through the woods and street.
With no way to carry the ducklings, Green emptied the pediatric bag, and placed each duckling in the bag.
“You don’t realize how hard it is to catch tiny mallards through the woods,” Green said. “It was a workout.”
The ducklings were transported to a nearby animal hospital for assessment, care and eventual return to the wild.
EMS personnel in Colorado and California have recently helped shepherd ducks off of busy roads.