Unable to cope with the “heartbreak” of having three of her unborn cygnets dying due to youngsters destroying her nest and her mate leaving her, a swan in Manchester, UK, died.
The swan's nest was reportedly along the Manchester Canal in Bolton, and housed her unhatched eggs. A group of teenage boys threw bricks and rocks at the nest and unhatched eggs on May 20, reported daily Manchester Evening News.
After the incident, only three of the six unhatched cygnets survived. Since then, wildlife activists had been keeping an eye on the swan couple and their nest. According to the report, the male swan left a few days after the incident and has not returned since, the reason for this is believed to be stress.
According to the activists two more eggs were lost in the recent weeks, leaving only one.
"There's not much I can say really. She probably died of a broken heart as she had a partner for life, and he was driven away by stress,” wildlife activist, Sam Woodrow was quoted as saying.
On June 18, a Facebook user called Michael Mason shared pictures and wrote about the incident in a Facebook group called the All About Bolton.
“I really don't want to do this post today because it comes with great sadness. I have tried to keep you updated on this Swan who laid six eggs, three were destroyed by youths, she was then harassed by dogs jumping in and harassed by a duck and Moorhen and two more eggs were lost leaving her with one egg. Her mate left her on her own and sadly I was informed this morning she was found slumped in her nest dead. Just feel like crying as I have followed her progress for about 12 weeks,” the post read.
The post got numerous comments from upset Facebook users.
User Angeline Mac wrote: “Poor girl. Heartbreaking. Can't understand people doing such cruel things, nature is hard enough to deal with.”
Gail Haslam commented: “That's horrible. They should be named and shamed.”
According to media reports, activists and authorities are on the lookout for the teenagers who are responsible for the incident.
