Teens Kill, Cook, and Eat Mother Swan

 

by Pa Rock

Man with a Guinea

In what was truly a deed most fowl, a group of uncaring teenagers committed a heinous act against a harmless and essentially defenseless family of swans over the recent holiday weekend which resulted in the death of the mother and the abduction of her babies.

The "Village" of Manlius, a community of nearly 5,000 people in Onondaga County, New York, maintains a large municipal pond that has been home to a few swans for over a century.  The pond is fenced and was thought to be relatively secure.  Late one night last weekend a mother swan named Faye was sitting peacefully on her nest caring for her four babies (cygnets) when a group of three marauding teenagers from the neighboring  larger community of Syracuse hopped the security fence and captured the entire small family.  The heartless miscreants, along with some friends and family members, cooked Faye and ate her, and the babies were distributed to friends around the city of Syracuse.

(Faye was eaten on Memorial Day.  The murderous youth just missed "Mother's Day" by a couple of weeks.)

Faye's mate, Manny, was not injured during the raid on the pond, but he has since been removed from the pond because swans mate for life and the community feared he would become combative over the loss of Faye.

The young killers - ages 18, 17, and 16 - said they were "hunting" and believed the swan to be a "large duck."  The have been charged with two felonies each (grand larceny and criminal mischief), and two misdemeanors (conspiracy and criminal trespass).  The 18-year-old was given a court date, and the two juveniles were turned over to their parents.

There was no word on whether the negligent parents will be charged or not, and also no word on whether the delinquents would use a "fear of big duck" defense for slaughtering the swan.

The four cygnets were recovered from two area locations and have since been turned over to a biologist who is caring for them.

A family has been needlessly disrupted and destroyed  by a group of thoughtless kids who were out for an evening of self-amusement.  May the Village of Manlius stand firm in its prosecution of these individuals - and may Faye's children be allowed to live the rest of their lives in peace and contentment as they glide serenely across the ponds of life.

It's what their mother would have wanted.