Rescuers Save Pet Ducklings Found Abandoned in Fort Collins Park

The Northern Colorado Wildlife Center (NCWC) is reminding Fort Collins residents to take better care of their pets.

On Tuesday (May 3), the non-profit's team found three abandoned ducklings in a canal in Rolland Moore Park. The trio was attempting to cuddle with an old tennis ball.

According to a Facebook post, the team determined that the ducklings were not wild animals but former pets. They performed a successful water rescue and took the animals to the Larimer Humane Society, which will vet the animals and potentially adopt them into loving homes.

"Due to their age and circumstance, our team suspects that these were domestic ducklings that were purchased for Easter and then abandoned after they began to grow and require more resources," read the post. "If our team had not been able to rescue them, they would have died because domestic animals do not know how to correctly forage, evade predators, or find shelter."

The incident serves as a reminder to never release unwanted pets into the wild. If you do need to surrender a pet, the NCWC recommends alerting local shelters and rescues so that they can properly rehome it.

This isn't the first time the non-profit has helped birds in Northern Colorado.

In March, the NCWC rescued a goose from the middle of the road in Fort Collins. The animal was mourning its partner that someone hit with their car — an act that is illegal in Colorado.

If you do see a vehicle hit a goose, report the accident to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) or Colorado State Patrol (CSP).