I love nature walks — going off the beaten track to escape the grey concrete in search of more green! It’s such a reprieve to be able to get away for a little bit and soak in the sun and water and see what’s happening with local wildlife. What’s even better is when you’re already having such a good time being one with nature, and then you come across something you didn’t even think of. Something similar happened to an animal control officer; she was in for a surprise when she came across a sight she doesn’t see every day!
In a Michigan suburb, this officer discovered ten teeny tiny waddling duck orphans, neglected and abandoned and wandering the freeway. The officer stopped traffic to help them out of harm’s way, ushering the lost souls to the side of the road to put them all into a pet carrier. But now what?
The officer had an idea. She took the packed pet carrier and visited the South Winds Golf Club where she knew there was a big, beautiful pond. She brought them to Chris Grandy, the gold pro on the course, and the two of them hatched a plan.
Occupying the pond is new mom Stella, the course’s pet duck who just hatched her family of nine, two weeks prior. She had them next to the cart shed but has since moved to be closer to the natural and much more comfortable surroundings of the pond. So when the officer and Chris had all ducklings with them and approached the pond to let them go, they intended to place the babies alongside the similar company. But what happens next is unexpected.
The moment the babies hit the water, Stella immediately boots it over to pick them up! It was like she was watching the whole thing go down and could sense the youngsters in the carrier without seeing them. Stella momentarily left her own family to greet the new ones and bring them over to unite everyone together. Her immediate presence shocks the ducklings’ two rescuers, “She’s saying follow me!” as they look on stunned by her maternal instinct to take care of even more babies! The ducklings may have lost their mom, but now they’ve got a new one and a whole new family! What a great mother and what a sweet ending!
Click below to watch this heart bursting moment between nine orphaned baby ducks and their new mom!
