A routine workday in early June turned into an unexpected animal rescue for two City of Saskatoon employees.
The duo helped reunite a mother duck with her six ducklings that had become trapped in a downtown storm sewer.
Water and sewer department employees Freddie Hoeft and Sergej Klobucar were driving through downtown when they noticed a group of people gathered around a storm drain at the corner of 4th Avenue and 23rd Street.
“At first, we didn’t know exactly what was going on. We just wanted to make sure everything was okay, like nobody was in trouble. Then it turned out it was ducks in the sewer,” Hoeft told CTV News.
The ducklings had slipped through a storm sewer grate and into a pipe connecting two drains, while their mother paced anxiously above, unable to reach them. She was breathing heavy and quacking loudly according to the two rescuers.
The pair quickly realized they had the equipment and the expertise to help.
“We could hear them clear as day. We could see them swimming in the water,” Hoeft said.
Klobucar said rescuing the ducklings wasn’t difficult, but it required patience because they had to also remove the sewer grates.
“We have the tools. It’s a non-issue,” he said. “It’s just getting them out because they’re so little and squirmy. It just takes finesse.”
The timing proved critical. The employees say if the ducklings had traveled farther into the storm sewer system, they could have reached a main manhole beneath the street, making a rescue impossible.
After several tense minutes, all six ducklings were safely lifted from the storm sewer and reunited with their mother. The duck family then waddled across the street towards City Hall as relieved bystanders watched and cheered.
“I think they were just all exhausted,” Hoeft said.
“They had a little rest there, and the last we saw, they were making their way towards the river.”
The rescue marks the second duck recovery in Saskatoon this month. Late last week, Saskatoon police officers also came to the aid of a family of ducklings after they became trapped in a storm drain in the city’s Sutherland neighbourhood.
For Hoeft and Klobucar, what began as an ordinary day on the job ended with an unforgettable reminder that sometimes even the smallest rescues can make a big difference.
“I’m a softie for animals,” Klobucar added.
