Okotoks Firefighters recently saved a group of ducklings who found themselves in a jam.
At around 11 p.m. on July 21, the fire department received a call from some residents who'd found seven ducklings that had fallen down a sewer grate.
Captain Neil Rowan with the Okotoks Fire Department was on scene and describes a pretty clean and efficient rescue mission.
"They went down into the hole, about six feet down, and put all the ducklings into a five-gallon pale. They found mum and returned the ducklings to her out in the field there."
It seems a crowd had formed by the end.
"When one of the firefighters was looking for mother duck in the field, a bunch of Hungarian partridge flushed out. At the same time there was a doe that was walking past, so animals have become very comfortable in and around Okotoks," says Rowan.
He says they get these kinds of calls more often than you might think.
"We do get calls for animals quite often. Lots of time cats in trees or in ventilation systems in people's homes. We've had some squirrel tail entanglements as well. It's common, not just with ducklings and cats."
The fire department can be reached at (403) 938-4066, and emergencies should be reported to 9-1-1.