都市日報 2008-06-18

鴨媽媽狂奔1.6公里 勇救墮渠仔女

眼見子女身陷險境，相信所有母親必定盡力營救，英國一隻鴨媽媽為拯救誤墮水渠被沖走的6隻小寶貝，不顧安危在紐卡素街頭狂奔1.6公里，最終在善心路人協助下，與子女重聚。

6隻鴨寶寶因體形太小(圖)，不慎誤墮排水渠入口，被水流沖走，鴨媽媽自知無力拯救，唯有拔足狂奔，沿途追趕寶貝仔女。

牠橫過火車軌、繁忙馬路、兩個大球場、一間醫院及一個屋苑，追足「九條街」(圖)，終找到子女所在，但因渠蓋太重無法施救。

狂叫4小時始獲援助

心急如焚的鴨母不停向途人「求助」，像瘋婦般在街頭「驚叫」4小時，惜無人理會。此時，59歲途人Peter Elliott正與女兒散步，兩人見鴨媽媽瘋狂亂叫，即趨前協助，並發現渠蓋下有鴨子的微弱叫聲。

Elliott於是找來友人幫忙，用鐵撬將渠蓋揭開，再用漁網救出6隻小寶貝，讓牠們重投母親懷抱。 (都市)

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Amazing rescue by a mother duck who went the extra mile

By Paul Sims
Last updated at 12:37 AM on 17th June 2008

Trapped in a dark sewer, the six little mallard ducklings found themselves cut off and facing an uncertain future.

Their only hope of seeing daylight again lay with their mother  -  who they had last seen more than a mile away as they were sucked into a drain.

Rescue seemed impossible. Yet somehow the mother duck had managed to follow her offspring for more than a mile, apparently listening to their cheeps of distress at manhole covers as they were swept along below ground.

Her incredible journey took her across a busy roundabout, countless roads, a metro rail line, a housing estate, two school playing fields and hospital grounds.

Reunited: The six ducklings with their mother

The trail finally ended when she waddled on to Barrasford Close in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, where her chicks suddenly stopped.

And it was there, standing over another man-hole cover, that the mother remained for the next four hours until local residents heard chirping coming from down below.

They in turn launched a rescue operation, removing the manhole cover and using a child's fishing net to scoop all six from the sewer one by one and reuniting them with their mother in a paddling pool.

Peter Elliott, 59, said he first noticed the mother duck at 6am as he left his home on Sunday for a run. 'I was so surprised to find she hadn't moved when I got back,' he said yesterday. 'I went over wondering if she was injured but there were no visible signs of a problem.

Peter Elliott, 59, (left) and friend Jim Calder, 62, wrenched off part of a manhole cover to rescue the ducklings

'I went in and had breakfast and looked out again. I saw she was waddling away from a drain cover but then immediately going back and sitting down on it.

'It seemed odd, I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

'It was only when his daughter, Vicki Jefferson, 30, took her two-year-old son, James, out to see the mother duck that they first heard the ducklings in the sewer below.

The Big Pond in Brunswick where the ducks were released

'Vicki said she thought she could hear cheeping sounds,' said Mr Elliott. 'It was fairly clear that her chicks were trapped underground.'

Mr Elliott, his son-in-law Rob Jefferson, 30, and neighbour, Jim Calder, 62, returned armed with spades, a crow bar and spanners.

'We managed to haul this heavy manhole cover up and saw six little ducklings scrabbling around in the drain,' said Mr Elliott. 'We got a little fishing net from the house and lifted each duckling out in turn.

The sewer access point is close to the River Ouseburn, near the Three Mile Inn on the Great North Road, Gosforth - two miles away from where the ducklings were finally rescued

'I called the RSPCA and they said to let them wander off. But in such a built up area we didn't feel happy doing that. So we drove them to a lake near Newcastle airport and watched them swim happily away. It was a lovely moment.'

Northumbria Water said the nearest sewer access point to Barrasford-Close was more than a mile away, close to the River Ouseburn. 'We believe the ducklings entered the surface sewer system there,' said a spokesman.

Owen Joiner, from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, said: 'I can only think that she followed the cries of her young from manhole cover to manhole cover. Had she not done so, the ducklings will almost certainly have perished.'

Epic ordeal: The storm drain where it is believed the ducklings entered the sewer, and right, the mother duck's incredible  journey