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[das boot]

Today at lunch time I parked up alongside a small river, only about ten feet wide, very thick rushes alongside the banks, and the water surface covered in small lilies. I'd been there only a few minutes when a family of swans came up...pen, a really big cob and five well grown youngsters, looking for any handouts...from the other direction came a lone cob and approached the family group. The big cob took off after this infiltrator and good old scrap started, both birds really out to do some damage to each other....after a good few minutes the fight went off into the rushes, and chaos ensued, with rushes shaking and water spraying everywhere, obviously a right royal punch up was going on.

A short while later and the big cob came out, shook himself, gathered up his family and off they went, but no signs of the other adult...so I walked over to take a look, just to make sure he was ok and not in too much of a state.

I could'nt believe what I found...the infiltrator was floating dead in the water, with what looked like a broken neck and his face covered in blood. I couldn't reach him, so there he had to stay, food for the local rats...what a sad end for a magnificent creature.

I've seen swans fight before over females and/or territitorial rights, but I've never before seen one swan kill another.

Never did finish my lunch, it sort of put me off eating....

Rich

[MCR]

I hate them I have seen male swans  attack a wide range of water fowl at my local pond often to the death.

[sheerline]

It's nature in the raw, the process of natural selection, it's what makes the world go round and ensures good strong healthy stock and control of numbers. It's not nice to our eyes but it works for swans and every other creature on the planet... unless humans interfere with it, then it all starts going wrong. We either "xxxxx" up their environment or destroy some of their number, sometimes just for fun and in so doing destroy the natural selection process, this can lead to less healthy stock and diminishing numbers.
It also works the other way too, sometimes the numbers increase because of our interference, for instance, the fox explosion in London and other inner cities...again, unhealthy and unfit stock creating health hazards for other creatures.
Mother nature doesn't appear very nice but left to it's own devices, it actually works very well.

I know it's wrong really but in the instance you described, the animal lover in me would compell me to interfere if the opportunity presented itself.

[Wasyl]

At,our ponds where we sail our boats,we have a resident pair of Mute Swans,hence the name,given to the ponds,"Swannie"andeach year,just after the cygnets are born,our boats are in constant danger, and we have to be very careful, and keep our distance,but even then it does not always mean that our boats won,t be attacked,i have witnessed a Cob tread water for over 100m in order to attack a boat,whilst it is a spectacular sight,the endresult is always the same,"a mad dash to get the boat out of the water"before it is wrecked,


Wullie

[over_powered84]

Should Start Sailing 6 Metre & A Class Yachts, They Don't Like Anything Bigger Than Them In The Same Water, We Have No Trouble Here At Greenock

[Wasyl]

Weegie swans,must be different

Wullie

[malcolmfrary]

Should Start Sailing 6 Metre & A Class Yachts, They Don't Like Anything Bigger Than Them In The Same Water, We Have No Trouble Here At Greenock

Agreed.  A swan jumping up and down on a duckling can be intimidated into good behaviour with a 1 metre yacht with a B rig, especially if its running downwind and goosewinged.  They really dont like to take on anything thats bigger than them provided they are not actually defending their young.

[keef666]

 I believe the swans that our boating lake have made their winter home have returned, so its up to 40+ on some days, but its no the danger to the boats, it the people, who queue up with binbags full of bread, and dump the lot in to the water, thinking they are being kind humans feeding the swans, the true is in a few weeks the water turns green and is rank, try and ask them please don't dump it in the water, you get abuse back, and thats of the women, see if i have some photos, of what we have to put up with.

having said that i love any type of animal, except some humans

[craftysod]

seen last sunday




Mark

[das boot]

Funny thing...swans seem to ignore a sub, especially if it's at periscope depth, whereas geese seem to have a built in hatred of a submarine. I've sailed the Patrick Henry into a flock of swans and watched them as they just move over and let me through, but when I tried it with a couple of Canada geese, they went beserk...despite a full crash dive, new 'scopes were needed.


Rich