Donna
I'm Falcon Crazy
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« on: 19-Jan-10, 08:21:31 AM » |
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BARNSTABLE — The unassailable beauty of the swan has swelled its romantic image through the ages, and the fact that it mates for life doesn't hurt either.
But it's also true that swans are an invasive species to North America. They are the biggest birds on this continent, with 7-foot wingspans. They eat more than their fair share, and they will kill native competitors who enter their 4- to 10-acre territories, according to Ian Ives; director of the Massachusetts Audubon Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary.
They can even break human bones with those angelic wings, Ives continued.
And still, the story of a male and female swan who met this winter at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable had everyone swooning at the pair's release back into the wild yesterday.
The pen, or female, came to the wildlife hospital on Nov. 28. A man had found her on the road on Whistle Lane in Dennisport, said Dr. Roberto Aguilar, the Wildlife Center veterinarian.
She acted stunned and had suffered "severe trauma" from being hit by a car. Yet with time, the 3-year-old regained full health and, by Dec. 4, was ready to be let outside for exercise, Aguilar said.
Then on Dec. 11, someone from Plymouth brought in a male and female pair. The female had grave injuries. She was on a road with a puncture wound. The male appeared healthy but was standing in front of his girl, waving his wings, the doctor said.
"He was defending her from traffic," the veterinarian said.
Unfortunately, the female died on her first night in rehab. And the male, who was successfully treated for an abscess on his foot, became very "depressed," Aguilar said.
"He wouldn't eat; he wasn't doing well," he said.
The staff made two or three miserable attempts to force-feed him. It was an awful experience, sticking a tube down the bird's neck in a similar way geese are force-fed to make goose liver paté, Aguilar said.
Not knowing what else to do, the vet put him outside with the female.
"They bonded immediately and they hate to be separated," he said.
Both gained about 4 pounds, he added.
Along with about 90 percent of birds, swans do mate for life, Ives said. But they aren't above occasional dalliances outside their marriage, Ives added.
And if widowed, they'll take another mate.
It seemed pretty clear yesterday that these two had picked each other.
Before their release at Barnstable Harbor, Aguilar guessed that they wouldn't be able to fly at first because of all the weight they put on in rehab. At first, he seemed right. But then the female started to flap. She skimmed the water then went upright a safe distance from more than 50 well-wishers. Immediately, the male, who had settled briefly in the water, tried again. He beat furiously, sticking his great neck out straight. His body language was pure, "Wait-for-me!"
He, too, lifted off and landed near her. They swam like a skating pair for a few minutes, their bodies white like the ice flows in the bright blue water.
Then, they did a thing that made everyone clap. They flew low over the audience. Their majestic fly-over was maybe to say thanks for the all help. Or perhaps they just wanted to get away, and be alone.
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