When our Rescue Officers arrived at Burleigh Waters in response to a call for help, they were met with two beautiful black swans, one of which had a gash on his head.
The injured father swan was sitting on a nest of 8 eggs when Animal Rescue Officer Sam decided he was too ill to be left alone. Unfortunately, there was a chance the swan had a concussion.
The mother swan noticed all the commotion and started swimming back towards the nest, prepared to ruffle some feathers.
Sam was hoping the mother would swap nesting duties with the father to help ease the rescue process and limit the chances of hurting the eggs, but the swans didn’t appear to be on board with the plan.
Instead, Sam gently navigated the injured swan away from the nest, all the while hearing the mother swan hissing threats at her in an attempt to protect her family. Of course, treating the father was the only way to effectively protect their family.
The father swan was rushed off to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital for urgent treatment—the quicker he was cared for meant the quicker he could go back to caring for his eggs!
He received stitches and antibiotics and before long was released back with his family, happier and healthier than before! We always love a happy ending for our wildlife rescues.
If you see injured or sick animals in need of help, contact our 24/7 Animal Emergency Hotline, 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625).
After graduating from QUT with a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Creative and Professional Writing, Sarah wanted to fuse her love of writing with her passion for animal welfare. With a pen in one hand and a cat on her lap, she seeks to help the lives of animals one word at a time.
