We have marveled at the strength and orneriness of swans on this ng,
but it wasn't enough to save a mated pair from a creep who stabbed and
beat a mating pair to death in a park in the Bronx.  The male was 25
pounds, and the female 18.  

I can't tell you how hearing this story depressed me.  I live near a
park in Brooklyn, and the breeding pair of swans are part of life
around here.  We love their majesty and their pure beauty, but we also
secretly-- and not so secretly-- admire their toughness, their
take-no-sh*t attitude, and their kamikaze devotion to their babies.
They are so big and powerful, they seem indestructible, but they are
also vulnerable to stupid, savage brutality.

I am just praying that these two got a some good shots in and drew
some blood before the bastard ended thier lives.    The local ASPCA
retrieved their nest of six eggs and have them in an incubator.

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com