When 9-year old aspiring wildlife animal rescuer Zoe Adkins saw a bunch of ducklings and their mother squawking, squeaking and clearly in distress across from Sussex's Madeline Park, she said, “Mom, we have to stop.”
As Zoe and her mother, Kristina, watched, they saw one duckling fall through a storm sewer grate and pulled over to help. Soon after, another fell through the grate on the other side of Waukesha Avenue.
Adkins tried to pull out the first duckling, but couldn't reach, she said. That's when she called for help in the form of the Sussex Fire Department.
Two firefighters were able to reunite the ducklings with their mother and about 14 other ducklings at about 10:30 a.m. June 18. The rescue took about 15 minutes.
“When I looked, I saw the mama trying to help the babies,” said Zoe, who will be in fourth grade at Sussex's Woodside Elementary School this fall. “She (the mother duck) looked scared.”