We noticed several days ago that there was a duck's nest just off our alley in back of the neighbor's house. The boys have been so excited the past few days. I tried to teach them to keep their distance and not to feed the mama duck (bread can actually kill ducks or at least shorten their lifespan). Well, one day the boys mysteriously asked for a slice of plain bread to eat outside. After a little while I went to check on them and found them in the alley in the middle of a tragedy. The mama duck had been walking with about a dozen ducklings when the babies began falling through the grate in the alley. I tried to keep her away from the grate, but she was panicking and kept walking over it to see her fallen babies. Of course, her remaining ducklings would follow her and more of them continued falling through the cracks until there was only one left. Through this process, the mama actually attacked Cai who was getting too close. Poor Cai was really scared, but didn't hold a grudge once I explained that all mamas, including me, will do whatever is necessary to keep their babies safe. I called the HOA so they could call Animal Control, but while I was standing there looking distressed and blocking the alley, some neighbors stopped to help. With 4 of us, we were able to lift the heavy metal and one of them ran to grab some nets she had. All the ducklings were finally saved!
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