The male pair being harbored at Camelot Lakes were awaiting placement elsewhere, and Eric and I did our best to explore all options. Again, an out-of-the-blue phone call from a Mennonite pastor provided hope. The call led to a meeting with the administrator and staff of Sunnyside Village who had thoughts of populating their lake for the past two years.
Yada-yada-yada, everything lined up and following a presentation to over one hundred residents, the swan pair was released into the lake. They quickly took a hard-right turn, parading past the residents who oooh-ed and ahhh-ed.
But nirvana lasted only a few days as river otters invaded the lake and the swan pair decided this was not the place for them. They escaped into neighboring lakes and, after over four hours of chasing and evading, were captured by Eric and I and taken back to Camelot Lakes.
A week later, we met again. I was prepared to let this be the last word, walking away from what seemed to be an ideal environment. I was surprised to hear that Sunnyside was committed to do whatever was necessary to return the swan pair to a safe environment there. What caused this commitment? Simply, the Sunnyside residents were so taken by the presence of swans that they literally stormed the office with demands to get the swans back.
The "power" of two swans to bring about such emotions is humbling and woudl be hard to ever forget.
Stay tuned for more on this.