Today’s Washington Post article about the five ducklings who met their fate in the drain of a pool outside the National Museum of the American Indian is a bit of a downer. But behind every mass baby animal water grave lies great copy! Check out this plum quote, from an NMAI spokesperson:

“Nobody wants to see any sort of wildlife killed,” spokeswoman Leonda Levchuk said. The incident was especially painful for the museum because it occurred at a busy hour and in an area full of visitors, she said. “We hate to see when visitors actually witness them kind of being sucked away.”

According to the piece, despite preventative measures, ducklings are frequently kind of sucked away. But if Levchuk’s quote wasn’t enough to cheer you up, check out this happier tale of duckling-meets-grate: A rare sewer duck rescue!

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Update:Eep eep eep eep eep eep eep eep eep eep eep eep eep eep!