Officers rescue 11 ducklings stuck in a storm drain on Christmas Day

League City Officer C. Bay carrying one of the ducklings out of the storm drain on Dec. 25, 2023.
League City Police Department

Houston Chronicle
By Octavia Johnson,Staff writer
December 26, 2023

Officers rescued ducklings in League City after callers told authorities the brood had become stuck in a storm drain Christmas morning. 

According to the League City Police Department's Facebook post, community members called dispatch about a duck losing 11 of her ducklings in a storm drain. When officers responded, they found the ducklings were farther inside the drain rather than near the entrance.

The officers had help from the mother duck who called her ducklings back to the entrance. According to the police's social media post, two officers assisted with rescuing the ducklings by closing off the access to the drain and getting into the hole. 

"Mama duck quickly gathered them all together and they all waddled their way back home," the social media post said. 

According to Rutgers University's website, it is common for ducklings to fall through the opening of storm or sewer grates. However, a mother duck sometimes will walk across the grate without recognizing the danger of leading her offspring across it.