Animal service officers rescue 23 baby ducks in Irvine

Nearly two dozen “domesticated” ducklings were rounded up and rescued by animal service officers at an Irvine park after a group of concerned citizens notified police, authorities said on Wednesday.

The ducklings were different than the wild ones normally observed at the park, according to a post on the Irvine Police Department’s Instagram account.

When animal service officers arrived at the park, which was not identified in the post, they discovered eight ducklings huddled near a lake, and another 15 located nearby.

One of the officers rounded up the 23 ducklings and took them to the Irvine Animal Care Center, where the baby ducks were cared for until someone from an animal rehabilitation center picked them up.

The Police Department stressed that domestic animals should never be released into the wild, in part because they depend on people for food, face potential conflicts with other wild animals and can be easy targets for prey.

Anyone coming across an animal that needs assistance or seems out of place in the area was asked to call the Irvine Police Department on its non-emergency line at 949-724-7000.