Aussie brothers have heroically come to the rescue of 10 baby ducks and their mother after they hatched at a temperature reaching 39 degrees. The three boys were playing on their street when they noticed the birds struggling on the hot bitumen and decided they needed to help.
Their mother Kerry Machado explained to Yahoo News that the ground was “literally burning their feet”.
“You could almost see them jumping on the bitumen because it was so hot,” she said.
“They got to the other side and went under a car, because it was shady.”
The boys raced to their west Adelaide home and fetched containers and a watering can to hydrate them.
“By the time we got back there, a couple of the baby ducks were lying on their backs so their feet wouldn’t burn on the ground,” she said.
“They were clearly in distress.”
The boys carried the ducks down to water and released them. Source: Supplied
Brothers work together to catch black ducks
The Pacific black ducks had likely hatched in someone’s backyard, and there was no water nearby.
Kerry, who volunteers as a wildlife rescuer, knew if the birds were to survive, they’d have to intervene and catch them.
Together, Mason (9), Byron (11) and Lachlan (12) worked together to catch all of the ducks, and then they placed them in a pet carrier.
They jumped into their car, and drove around a kilometre, to a safe release site.
Mason (left) and Byron carrying the family of ducks. Source: Supplied
Exciting moment ducklings are released into water
Pictures supplied to Yahoo News show Mason and Byron carrying the ducks together, down to nearby water.
The mother flew out first and then all the ducklings followed as her kids watched in excitement.
“The water quickly put out the fire on their feet,” Kerry said.
When they got home, the brothers excitedly shared their good deed for the day with their grandparents and friends.
“They felt like they did a really good deed for the day — we were in the right place at the right time,” she said.
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