Baby swan rescued

JEANETTE BILLINGS
Staff Writer
jbillings@lbknews.com

It all started at  4:38 p.m. when Longboat Officer Monica Quarmby made contact with a Key resident who was photographing swans at the golf course at Bay Isles Road.

It appeared that the swan parents had rejected one of the seven baby swans. The adult swans were chasing it away and had pecked swan would not survive without intervention.

Officer Quarmby made contact with Mr. Novak, a 15-year Longboat Key resident that is involved with the care of the swans and explained the situation. Novak responded and took the rejected baby swan to prevent it from being harmed further.

After reading the police report, Longboat Key News contacted Novak to find out what happened to the cygnet (baby swan).

Novak explained that the incident, though unnerving, is a standard case of natural selection. Occasionally, there will be something wrong with a cygnet, often times a smaller or weaker cygnet, and the parents will ignore it. They will allow it to lag behind or not feed it. To humans, this sounds very cruel, but in nature this is called natural selection and is common. If there is something wrong with a cygnet, the swans will reject it and it usually ends up dying.

Novak said that without proper care, he knew the cygnet would die. He knew he had to call the swan doctor.

The swan doctor practices veterinary medicine in Lakeland, Fla. Lakeland’s nickname is the ‘City of Swans’. In fact, more than 200 of the migratory beauties call Lakeland home. Dr. Geoffrey Gardner, DVM, is Lakeland’s beloved swan saver.

“It’s in my blood to care for swans. My Dad started caring for the city’s swans in the 1950s, which he continued for 40 years. I attended University of Florida and received my Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1985. As a kid I used to follow my dad around while he cared for the flock of swans.”

Gardner was happy to help when he received the telephone call about the abandoned Longboat Key cygnet. He believes the baby’s chances for survival are very good. He explained that at the same time he took in the Longboat baby he also received another abandoned cygnet from Orlando.

“Two rescued babies are better than one. They learn to preen, swim and feed from one another. Their chances of survival in pairs increases,” said Gardner.

Gardner and his team had just finished letting the babies swim, feed and preen when we interviewed him. He said the baby is doing well and will stay with his team until he or she is ready to be released into the flock. Gardner explained that it would be probably two more weeks until the sex of the Longboat Key cutie can be determined.

“That’s when we will name the rescued baby,” said Gardner.

Some cygnet facts

Cygnets grow more slowly than other swimming birds do. They need their parents for a longer time, too. Their parents help them find food and stay safe.

A few days after hatching, cygnets are ready for their first meal. Their parents help by pulling up underwater plants. Soon, cygnets are able to peck at water plants and insects on their own.

During the day, cygnets stay close to their parents. If a cygnet wanders off, a parent calls to it. And cygnets call to their parents if they need help. At night, cygnets sleep in the nest, safe and warm under their mother’s wings.

Cygnets stay with their parents for about a year or two. This gives young swans time to learn such things as migration routes. Some swans stay with their parents until they are ready to choose mates of their own.

To learn more, Dr. Gardner’s recommended reading is “Care of Captive Swans,” available on Amazon.com. Or visit www.TheRegalSwan.com.