Duck stuck in car grill outside of Moncton recovering

A mallard duck is recovering at the Atlantic WIldlife Institute after being caught in the grill of a car that was driving on the highway outside of Moncton. 

Pam Novak, the director of the Cookville-based wildlife institute, said it's not uncommon for ducks to get caught in the grills of vehicles.

Novak said after hearing a bang, the latest driver pulled over, only to discover the female duck was stuck.

"He didn't know really quite what to do or where to go, he couldn't get the bird out of the grill of the car himself so he made a few phone calls," he said.

Novak said the panicked driver then took the duck to the Maritime Animal Hospital in Moncton.

"He apparently drove very slowly, found his way to the clinic and one of our vet techs there, who still after all these years, is not the friendliest with birds ... she actually came to the rescue and pulled this poor female mallard out of the grill of the car," she said.

Novak said the bird not only survived, but only suffered a strained wing and is now doing well.

"Oddly enough this is not the first time we've had this type of scenario, Novak said, adding they've had successful releases after such incidents.

She said the female mallard is expected to rest for about a week before being released.

"I've pulled mallards out of Jetta front grills, Toyota front grills ... and I think sometimes what happens is when they hit that part of that plastic there's some give in there, so if they hit it just right they get sucked right in," Novak said.

She has rescued other ducks and a ruffed grouse from vehicles' grills and says most have survived because once they break the plastic of the grill they are somewhat protected.

"There was even a kestrel that they don't even know how long it was in the grill, it was on an 18-wheeler, that was coming across the province and he didn't notice until he stopped at a truck stop that he had a bird stuck in his grill," she said.