The Two Brothers
Meet the Swans: Precious/Marlika | Papa/Mama | Boy | Lady | Boulika | Tristan | Brothers
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The latest about the Two Brothers:
Doing very well: As of October 2005, the Two Brothers are doing very well. They spend much of their time with The Baby (Lady). They’ve learned to give Precious lots of room, and still have plenty for themselves.
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Try the 20-Question Quiz about the Brothers
The Two Brothers - near the water - with Baby at the forefront.
The new kids on the block! Beside Tweety who was born in the Spring of 2005, the Two Brothers are the newest arrivals at the Lagoon.
They were originally three siblings - two brothers and one sister - when they arrived at Lost Lagoon in December 2004. The female died in the summer of 2005 (attacked by an off-leash dog who mutilated her all over on her head, neck and body), leaving the Two Brothers.
Swan life can be very hard: Their previous location was surrounded by raccoons and the swans could not put one foot on the ground for fear of being eaten by a family of raccoons. Their previous location was also surrounded by pines that shed their needles into the water. Since swans eat in the water, they got pine needles in their mouth, stuck under their tongue. Over time, the needles formed an ever-thickening cushion that finally blocked their mouth and prevented the swans from swallowing their food. One female swan had died of starvation and the remaining three were also close to death.
At the bird hospital: They received good care from their vet and after a week of treatment, were ready to be released in the Lagoon. Ziggy, the Wildlife Technician in charge of wild life at the Lagoon, made sure to release them outside the territory of Precious - who was kept busy by a volunteer on the other side of the Lagoon - so he would not chase them right away upon arrival.
New home: They established their new “homestead” on the East side of the Lagoon and stayed together.
One full week on the ice: January 2005 - shortly after their release in the Lagoon - was exceptionally cold and the whole water surface froze except for a small patch in Precious' territory. All the swans of the Lagoon walked across the ice to this patch of water but Precious chased them away (he was half-crazed during this period, with so many swans invading his minuscule water patch). While all the swans except these three new ones retreated to the ground around the Lagoon (they normally don't like to be on the ground because they are easy prey to dogs, coyotes, raccoons, etc), the three new swans went to the ice in the middle of the Lagoon. They remained on the ice in sub-zero temperatures, with nothing to eat, for more than a week. The Management of the Lagoon had to intervene and take away Precious and his mate Mrs. P until the ice melted. This allowed the three swans to - very slowly, because they were afraid of Precious reappearing - come to the small patch of water with all the other swans AND EAT!
The Two Brothers on the East side of the Lagoon, Oct. 2005
As of October 2005, the Two Brothers are doing very well, perfectly adapted to their new environment. And they eat as much as they want!
20-Question Quiz about the Two Brothers
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Photos courtesy of Fiona Sinclair
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