Watch out, duckies!

December 12, 2012 3:27 PM

A family of ducks crosses the highway [slyt]
posted by special-k (50 comments total)

Fact: When they all finally popped over the white line onto the shoulder on the opposite side, I pumped my fists into the air and shouted "Yes!" because I am a grown man with an important job and that is how we do things when ducks cross roads.
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:32 PM on December 12, 2012 [44 favorites]

That was stressful. I kept thinking the word "tries" in the title was a terrible omen.
posted by montaigneisright at 3:33 PM on December 12, 2012

I screamed so loudly and with such unspeakable panic and anguish at 00:30 that I feel I should apologize to my next door neighbor

SPOILER ALERT THIS VIDEO HAS A HAPPY ENDING
posted by elizardbits at 3:34 PM on December 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

They should have found a friendly cop with a whistle.
posted by brundlefly at 3:35 PM on December 12, 2012 [7 favorites]

Tumblr methadone this is.
posted by The Whelk at 3:36 PM on December 12, 2012

In my head, mother ducks talk like WWII-movie sergeants. "Come on! Move, move, move! That means YOU, Wachowski! Nobody gets left behind in Alpha Company!"
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:37 PM on December 12, 2012 [12 favorites]

Why did the ducks cross the road?
posted by Egg Shen at 3:38 PM on December 12, 2012

Can't get the Frogger theme out of my head now.
posted by xedrik at 3:39 PM on December 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

Wow, that was harrowing. But Mom Duck was all like, "I know that was a big truck, but we've got to STAY ON TARGET! Form up and keep moving!"
posted by vibrotronica at 3:39 PM on December 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Man what a huge risk to take. That mother duck must've been smoking quack.
posted by phaedon at 3:40 PM on December 12, 2012 [17 favorites]

ba dum tss
posted by elizardbits at 3:43 PM on December 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Was this the 401? If so, that's about as empty as that highway gets.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:44 PM on December 12, 2012

That is totally fake. Real ducks would have done it using parkour or something.
posted by TheRedArmy at 3:44 PM on December 12, 2012

Wow, 674,091 views, most of which are from the last couple of days, plus an unskippable 30-second ad? CNN is probably considering whether they should lose this journalism thing and get into funny animal videos full time.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:47 PM on December 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Uhhh I don't remember CNN ever doing journalism so?
posted by The Whelk at 3:48 PM on December 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have never in my entire life seen an ad on youtube. Are you not using adblock plus?

i just

what

how do you LIVE
posted by elizardbits at 3:49 PM on December 12, 2012 [20 favorites]

The thirty second ad is totally skippable with Adblocker.

The ducks...eh, they made it across. But since when has CNN been trying to distract us from the relentless grind of our corporate overlords and surveillance state with cute animal videos?
posted by Noms_Tiem at 3:50 PM on December 12, 2012

Why did the ducks cross the road?

Because no-one had built them a tunnel.
posted by pompomtom at 3:55 PM on December 12, 2012

I think the baby ducks had more dense than the mother. They're all "Mom, this is crazy lets go back" and she's all "Cars, no big deal."
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 4:10 PM on December 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Great, now that we've done the animal trials it is time to try it with an adult and seven or eight toddlers! Its time for Science!
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:12 PM on December 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

This reminds me of the time I found my mother shoving my sister's backside up a tree with her clinging on a branch for dear life screaming.

What?

Didn't your mom teach you how to climb trees? (or cross the road)
posted by infini at 4:12 PM on December 12, 2012

try it with an adult and seven or eight toddlers!

They do this in Finnish day care... one of my favourite scenes is playschool kids in puffy winter jumpsuits in neon colours being shepherded around in the snow.
posted by infini at 4:14 PM on December 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh my goodness, I am so glad they made it! I kept saying, "WATCH OUT, DUCKS!" until they crossed.

I like how Mama duck gathered all her little ducklings together a few times, making sure they were following her and not chickening out.

I was worried, because I have known of less solicitous duck Mothers, and the endings to those stories are very sad.

Especially the tiger one.
posted by misha at 4:32 PM on December 12, 2012

CNN Distraction: [It's Not News]

Here, let me fix that.

CNN: Distraction [It's Not News]
posted by zardoz at 4:44 PM on December 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

My comment on YouTube will NOT make me popular... But it needed to be said.
posted by bert2368 at 5:13 PM on December 12, 2012

That was stressful. I kept thinking the word "tries" in the title was a terrible omen.

"And to close out the night, a family of ducks tries to cross a highway in Toronto - and fails! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 5:20 PM on December 12, 2012

previously
posted by warbaby at 5:32 PM on December 12, 2012

Gotta love a duck with a lot of pluck.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 5:40 PM on December 12, 2012

My blood pressure just spiked from watching that!
posted by ramix at 5:43 PM on December 12, 2012

Isn't there another side to that highway? It looks like they just got to the middle and then the video ends. :[
posted by oneirodynia at 5:44 PM on December 12, 2012

My girlfriend called to me in the bathroom to ask if I was ok after I shouted at the ducks. "I'm ok! Just had a close call in here!"
posted by orme at 5:54 PM on December 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

CNN: Distraction. It's not news.
posted by Aizkolari at 5:56 PM on December 12, 2012

I almost went pâté in my pants.
posted by hal9k at 5:57 PM on December 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Based on the width and non-elevatedness, that's got to be either the 401 or the DVP. If it's the 401, then, yes, there is another side for them to cross. If it's the DVP, then there are some portions at least where there is accessible water that can be reached in between the Northbound and Southbound.
posted by 256 at 6:05 PM on December 12, 2012

Oh Shit. I lied. I just double-checked. I was pretty sure there was a spot at Millwood where you that green stretch connected to the River, but no. Those ducks all died to Southbound traffic.
posted by 256 at 6:10 PM on December 12, 2012

tumblr made this worse for me because it gave the instructions to

1) watch the ducky video but with the sound turned off while you
2) play the music from this video
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 6:27 PM on December 12, 2012

What they didn't show you was the return trip where they all died because wildlife tunnels are not a priority in road construction.
posted by jnnla at 6:34 PM on December 12, 2012

Is this real? The camera appears to track them pretty damn well...
posted by Brocktoon at 7:17 PM on December 12, 2012

This is the most horrible thing I have ever seen with a happy ending.
posted by Mavri at 7:31 PM on December 12, 2012

Original non-CNN version.
posted by unliteral at 8:06 PM on December 12, 2012

I don't need this kind of stress in my life.
posted by waldo at 8:28 PM on December 12, 2012

I'm used to there being more traffic, too. [previously/selflink]
posted by not_on_display at 8:44 PM on December 12, 2012

Lucky ducks.
posted by dougzilla at 11:42 PM on December 12, 2012

somehow the maze of youtube let me to this, which was good enough i thought I'd share
posted by fistynuts at 12:31 AM on December 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

On the one hand: yay ducks.

On the other: CNN Distraction? Is there a more depressing comment on the state of US journalism than this?*

* OK. Maybe. #3.
posted by MuffinMan at 12:46 AM on December 13, 2012

Well, that did exactly what it said on the tin.
posted by Decani at 2:57 AM on December 13, 2012

Say what you will about Massachusetts State Toopers, but they know how to react to a mallard in similar straits. (There used to be video with this story, but now I can't find it)
posted by Mayor West at 5:30 AM on December 13, 2012

THIS IS TERRIFYING.

I'm so glad it turned out okay.
posted by insectosaurus at 7:38 AM on December 13, 2012

For those who want the video without the music and a few more seconds of ducks safely in the grass on the other side of the road, it's on CTV.
posted by sardonyx at 7:44 AM on December 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm even more suspicious of Canadian YouTube videos now. Any word on this one?
posted by Brocktoon at 6:23 PM on December 22, 2012