Crime & Safety

Photos: Cops Rescue 9 Fuzzy Ducklings

The critters were trapped in a storm drain.

Nine little ducklings that had lost their way discovered over the weekend that police officers’ oath to protect and serve does indeed extend to feathered creatures.

At least that’s the case in Lakeland where Sgt. Henry and Officers Gomez and Mackey pitched in to rescue the brood. It seems the critters managed to get themselves trapped in a storm drain at the corner of Louise Place and Lake Morton Drive, according to WFLA.

Not willing to let the little birds suffer, the officers pitched in to access the drain and pull the babies to safety. All nine were rounded up and “are now safe,” the department reported on its Facebook page Saturday.

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The storm drain rescue isn’t a first of its kind in the Tampa Bay area. Back in January, Tampa Police officers and residents pitched in to rescue a kitten trapped in a drain on a dangerous downtown street. Earlier this month, a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy pulled over on patrol to rescue a calf that managed to get mucked up in the mud, too.

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Why such a push to protect and serve “residents” of the furry and feathered kind?

Clearwater Police Officer Christian Zarra shed some light on the matter last year after trudging through mangroves to save a bird that had been struck by a car.

“It’s the little things that keep you going,” he said.

Photos courtesy of the Lakeland Police Department Facebook page

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