NORTH BAY -- An injured duck in this northern Ontario city knew where to go for help. City police Const. Marc Ethier was operating radar in his cruiser when he noticed the duck in a ditch across the road.

The mallard waited for traffic to clear, then waddled across the busy road to the car's door and quacked several times before heading off and hiding behind a stump, Ethier said.

Believing the duck was in distress, Ethier called the humane society. After the animal was corralled, the officer noticed a problem with one of its wings.

"In 10 or 15 years of policing, I doubt I'm going to see anything like that happen again," Ethier said yesterday of the Jan. 7 incident.

The duck is now safe and "living the life" in a heated wildlife sanctuary.

"She might have been hit by a car and sustained a concussion," said spokesperson Kay McKinnon. "There was no sign of any fractures."