Hero Catches Ducklings Falling From 30-Foot High Ledge

Eric Pelno stepped up to save the fluffy baby birds.
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Just call Eric Pelno the defender of the ducks.

When it started raining ducklings during a family trip to the Busch Gardens Tampa theme park on June 19, Pelno immediately switched into "beast mode."

Video going viral shows him catching more than a dozen of the fluffy baby birds as they leapt, lemming-like, off a 30-foot high ledge.

The bizarre rescue began when Pelno's girlfriend, Channing Deren, felt something fall onto her shoulder as the couple and her 6-year-old daughter Audrey were walking to a ride.

"I had no idea what it was," Deren told FOX 13 News. "So we looked down and it was a baby duck." The family spotted a nest in the ride's stone barricade, which she said contained "like 20 duck faces just looking down at us."

In a Facebook post, Deren detailed how her partner "just went into beast mode" as the ducklings began dropping down. He did his best to catch one baby bird after another, gently setting them safely on the ground.

Although one of the birds suffered an injury to its leg, which was treated by park staff, all of the babies were eventually reunited with their mother.

Watch the full video here:

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