Wichita animal rescue group helps duck get free of plastic six-pack holder (VIDEO)

Debbie Fanning was out walking her dogs when she came across a duck in a pond that had a plastic six-pack holder wrapped around its head.

She could tell the duck was in distress.

Fanning wanted to help but didn’t know where to turn. She said she called about 10 different animal welfare and rescue agencies, but each one told her that they didn’t handle wildlife.

That’s where Wichita Animal Action League came in.

The animal rescue group typically tries to help domestic animals such as dogs and cats. But founder and director Sarah Coffman wanted to at least try to help the duck.

One of the groups Fanning had contacted, Coffman said, had advised her “to let nature take its course.”

“I don’t think a plastic six-pack holder wrapped around a duck is natural,” Coffman said. “It’s littering.”

Coffman and other volunteers went out to the pond behind the Dillons store near Central and Maize, armed with a net. The group recently posted a video of the rescue on its Facebook page.

The situation was worse than Fanning had thought.

The plastic was wrapped around the duck’s head three times and “around her mouth like a horse bridle,” Coffman said. “Her beak had started to grow around the plastic.”

Volunteers threw mealworms out to the ducks to try to get them to come close.

“I emptied my pockets because I figured I was going in the water at some point,” Coffman joked.

Coffman was able to use the net to catch the duck and pull her to shore. Volunteers set about snipping the six-pack holder off the duck.

The video shows the duck swimming away and then splashing around.

Coffman said the duck swam back toward the volunteers and just stared as if to say “thanks.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” Coffman said.

Coffman said the incident is a good reminder to be sure to cut up plastic rings before throwing them out. The plastic rings eventually photo-degrade, but they can wreak havoc for wildlife.

Fanning said she plans to volunteer with the rescue group, which formed late last year.

“Oh my gosh, yes,” Fanning said when asked whether she was pleased about how things ended for the duck.

“They saved that duck. They did.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2014 at 6:54 AM with the headline "Wichita animal rescue group helps duck get free of plastic six-pack holder (VIDEO)."