AUBURN, N.Y. -- Jennifer Currier has brought her daughters Molly and Maddie to the pond at Hoopes Park. It's a way of introducing them to nature. A way of teaching them how to interact with other creatures.

The scene at this park was much different Sunday when a group of four boys, throwing stones, launched an attack on one of the duck families populating this pond.

“The mother was gravely injured. One of the babies was dead and there were 11 of the other chicks left. We let it go at that, we thought, well maybe the mother will recover and the next morning, the mother was gone and we suspect, dead. And there was only ten left,” said Auburn City Manager Mark Palesh.

By the time the rescue effort was launched, nine ducklings were saved.

After the attack, the boys had ridden their bikes past a nearby school, one with a surveillance camera. Police are using that video in their investigation.

In the community, there was anger, but little of any sense of shock.

“Honestly, it doesn't surprise me,” Currier said. “People kind of let their kids run around and do whatever they want.”

Even as the attackers are sought, the survivors huddle in a pen inside one of the buildings at the park.

The city manager and his family will personally care for the ducklings for the next six to eight weeks. At that point, they'll be teenagers and they'll be reintroduced to the pond. The ducks already on the water will be reintroduced to some long lost relatives.

And while the episode was tragic, Palesh says there is a bright side to all of this.

“We've had such an outpouring of people donating food and time and expertise. Those who have licenses from fish and wildlife. People who are now teaching their children. See this article here? Or see this on television? Don't you do that. It's turned out very positive,” Palesh said.

The survivors will soon meet more young people in Auburn. Their next encounter much happier than the last.