WINNIPEG – A few stragglers still remain from the great duck escape.
Thousands of little rubber ducks were dropped into the Assiniboine River on Saturday as part a fundraising race for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.
It seemed like they didn’t want to come out. The little, yellow bath toys hopped a barrier intended to hold them and kept going.
“We released over 13,000 ducks and we had winners,” said the Assiniboine Park Conservancy’s Laura Curtis. “And then we had some that continued past the finish line.”
The race started near the park’s footbridge and was supposed to end a short distance down the river where floating barricades were in place.
“Unfortunately, the current was so strong on Saturday and the wind ended up pushing some of the ducks past the barrier,” said Curtis.
As many as 4,000 rogue rubber ducks broke through the barrier, sparking action from emergency crews.
“We considered this a preventative effort to help contain the toys because that is essentially what they are,” said a city spokesperson in a statement to Global News. “If toys are found on the river bank, they could attract children and that’s a safety hazard. It was a means to prevent accidents.”
The recovery effort saw 12 firefighters and three of the department’s water units scoop up rubber ducks for almost five hours. But the conservancy won’t be billed for the cleanup.
“There are no costs,” said a city spokesperson. “We are treating this as an accident and the service was provided in the name of public safety.”
Firefighters and canoeists are working with the park, looking for any remaining ducks so they can be returned.
If you see a rubber duck floating along the river, do not attempt to rescue it. Instead, call the Assiniboine Park Conservancy and they’ll send somebody out to pick it up.
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