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Kelowna  

Highway 97 duck rescue

When Rodger Murray saw a family of ducks trying to cross Highway 97 Sunday morning, he knew he had to do something.

So he slammed on the brakes, and pulled over at the side of the road as traffic roared past.

His wife, Jamie Odland, said the first thing he did was call 911. He then immediately hung up, questioning if this was the kind of emergency the dispatch was designed for.

However, the 911 operator called him back and he explained the situation and the dispatch sent an officer to the location.

The mama duck and 13 babies were trying to cross the highway near Seca Marine and the Airport Inn.

When a second officer arrived, police agreed to stop traffic to aid the family of quackers.

“He said, 'You have five minutes,'” said Odland who by this time had arrived to help her husband. “He (police) looked at me and said do you think you can do this” I said yes. He said 'Go' and my husband and I had to round them up, They were in the bush, so we had to get them out of the bush and get them across the road.”

Odland said the officer did not think they could do it, but two minutes later the ducks were all across safely, ending the Great Highway 97 Duck Rescue.

“For them (police) to do that was pretty incredible. I didn't think they would stop traffic for it, but when they saw the baby ducks they went for it,” said Odland. “The RCMP were amazing, it was just great to see the look on their faces.”



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