The Avondhu was onsite on Tuesday afternoon as a now-recovered swan was successfully released back in to the wild on the Funshion River, thanks to the efforts of a local good Samaritan, a garda and Wildlife Rescue Cork.
The pen (female swan) had landed near the farm of Dan Maguire, Ballydeloughy, three weeks ago. Spotting the bird at around 4pm he thought it was unusual, particularly just to see one swan on her own. Coming back an hour or two later, he says he was ‘very surprised’ to see the animal still there.
With silage just cut, it seems likely that the swan came to ground to feed but hit an electric fence, damaging her leg. As it was gone 5pm and with vets closed, Dan called the local gardaí where he praised the efforts of Garda Tracey Howard for herhelp. While waiting, Dan stayed in his car nearby for fear a fox would get the injured animal, and while initially the swan was fearful and hissing at her rescuer, she soon relaxed and began preening herself, perhaps knowing she was in safe hands.
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