After the ducklings were moved off the highway, Scott and her niece placed them in the back of Hansen’s minivan. Meanwhile, Hansen and others tried to catch the mama duck. A Washington State Patrol trooper arrived to help, as did David Hughes, an officer with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.
“Mama is tough as nails,” Hansen said. The mama, bleeding from injuries, flew over to the nearby shopping complex, where she was caught by Hughes and reunited with her ducklings.
The Portland Audubon Society offered to take in the ducks, Hansen said, but Hughes planned to make sure mama was OK before delivering her and the ducklings back to water.
Scott Patterson, public affairs director for C-Tran, said Friday that Christina had finished her route and her bus was empty. Stopping on the highway was “less than an ideal situation, but given the circumstances and the conditions she made the call that she felt was best,” Patterson said.
“We don’t have a duck-crossing policy per se,” he said. “But we do provide thorough training for drivers.”
Hansen, an office services manager at Clark Public Utilities who serves on the C-Tran Board of Directors, downplayed his role in the rescue operation Friday. He did, however, use the opportunity to make a reference to his alma mater, Washington State University.
“No matter what the Ducks do in this community, they need a Cougar to save them,” he joked.
Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
