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To the rescue: Drivers, community save a duck family

Posted at 9:00 AM, Jun 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-30 09:36:58-04

A mom and her ducklings were having some trouble crossing a Wisconsin road — that's when drivers slowed down and even stopped to let them cross the street.

NBC26's Brooke Hafs recorded this video and posted it on her Facebook page.

Here's another view as the TV station's camera catches Appleton Community Service Officers stepping in to save the day.

It started off as a normal day in Appleton, until two city workers noticed a mother duck in distress.

Her eight baby ducklings trapped under a truck in Appleton. Community service officers were able to come to the rescue.

CSO team leader Matt Fillebrown says its a common call during the summer months.

"Summers we usually rescue about 200 ducks from areas in Appleton." Fillebrown said.

Fillebrown also said it was an old school maneuver that helped save the ducklings. "An old technique of nets on hands and feet to rescue the ducks from under the truck"

It happens often when ducks hatch and it's time to find the family a more permanent home in water ... sometimes ending up in somebody's swimming pool.

Jim Christenson is with the Green Bay Duck Hunter's Rescue Division. The group helps to make sure ducks stay safe even before they need rescuing.

"We will fence the nest off with a tiny fence like this that keeps the ducklings in there when they hatch we will transport them to a place where they have a better chance of surviving" Christenson said.

The ducklings and their mother were taken to Lutz Park in Appleton and released onto the Fox River.

The ducks did not resist officers in the rescue and no humans were hurt in the process.

If you see duck in distress or a mother duck nesting you can call the non emergency line to your local police for help.