Duck lucky Jaycee Park visitors came to rescue

One lucky duck escaped an ugly duckling fate earlier this week.

The duckling, one of a brood of about a dozen, found itself foundering in the pond at Jaycee Park the other afternoon as its mother and siblings paddled around, helpless to save the little guy from the fishing line noose that had wrapped around its neck.

With Niki Smith and nephew Andrew looking on, Greencastle Police Officer Nick Eastham is able to cut the stray fishing line from the neck of a rescued duckling at Jaycee Park.

But thanks to the persistence of Jaycee Park visitors Niki Smith of Greencastle and her family and the arrival of Officer Nick Eastham of the Greencastle City Police, our story has a happy ending.

The Smiths like to drive through Jaycee Park at lunchtime, partly to enjoy the scenery and partly because five-year-old Elaina Smith thinks there are alligators in the lake.

"She likes to look for critters," her mother explained.

And they spotted some the other rainy afternoon -- think the proverbial "nice weather for ducks" -- taking a gander at some 12-14 ducks in a row along the shore, Smith said.

"I saw one of them flopping around in the water and we thought, 'Oh, look, he's excited because of the rain.'"

But after they drove through the park and turned their car around, Smith got a different perspective on things. She realized the other ducks had swam away, leaving the entangled one behind like -- wait for it ... -- a sitting duck.

"We thought maybe he was snagged on something," Smith said before realizing she might be able to help him by using her daughter's umbrella.

Making like some sort of Mary Poppins-meets-Super Girl, Smith waded in and lunged forward with the child's umbrella, snagging the fishing line that had ensnared the little duck her daughter was now calling "Daffy."

Jaycee Park duckling ensnared in old fishing line.

"I was the one that picked the duck up," Smith recalled. "He had that fishing line all wrapped around his neck, but it was wound so tight we couldn't get it off."

So the duck was saved from the pond but the rescue was not complete.

That's when Officer Eastham arrived. Smith's mother, Lori Smith, had called 911 about the duck in danger and GPD sent Eastham to investigate.

He was able to cut the fishing line from the duck's neck, telling the Smiths it looked like it had been around the duckling's neck quite a while since it had been pulled so tightly.

With Smith holding the duckling, Eastham was able to gently cut the fishing line and unravel it from its neck.

Putting the duck back on the pond, Smith watched as its paddled around in "a mix between happy and scared."

The mother duck, however, was waiting for him and they swam off together to join the others, happily ever after.

In the aftermath of the incident, the Smiths, including nephews Andrew and Ethan, cleaned the banks of some of the debris that may have caused the duck's dilemma.

"There was fishing line everywhere," she said, adding that trash and cups and discarded cigarette packets all added to the mess on the shore.

Mother duck and duckling swim off, happily ever after.

"People need to take better care of things," the rescuer stressed.

And for one lucky duck, it's a good thing she and her family sure did.