“Maybe the swans here are a little bit racist …”
What’s four feet tall, resides in an über-upscale region of the British Isles, and has the reputation for attacking only those individuals with more melanoma than the average Englishman? As reported by The Telegraph (of London, Great Britain) the answer is one exceedingly over-protective cob and pen who for some unknown reason have quite the penchant for attacking only dark-complected people.
On the campus of the University of Warwick, Coventry, an understandably protective cob (male swan) and a pen (female swan) are obviously none-too-thrilled that more than a few of the school’s 25,000 students, staff, and visitors utilize the footbridge that crosses the pond where they and an unknown number of cygnets (swan chicks) have nested. Known to be extremely aggressive when defending both eggs and cygnets, this particular pair of birds have been physically attacking those who come too close for their comfort.
Angry birds …
Yet for whatever inexplicable reason, both the he- and she-swans have exclusively been attacking only dark-skinned human beings. One student identified only as a 24-year-old from India, was quoted as stating:
These swans are very annoying, and the [other] students feel as though they’re being bullied. I’m from India, and they attack me especially, they focus straight on me. We’ve been warned that the swans will be a bit feisty at this time of year, but they go for me all year round.
I think they don’t like too many Indians in England – maybe the swans here are a little bit racist.
Doubling up her studies by majoring in both physics and business, Italian co-ed Albertina Crocetti, 24, echoed the sentiments of her fellow matriculator:
It’s bizarre, she doesn’t seem to like foreigners and attacks them to defend her nest. She’s a true right winger that’s for sure – they certainly seem to be racially motivated incidents. It’s scary as I know they can some damage, its safer now she’s been fenced off so nobody gets hurt.
Bring on the pain …
Besides standing four feet tall, these particular swans reportedly each have a wingspan of a full eight feet across.
With those rather large dimensions, adult swans have been known to weigh upwards of thirty three pounds, thus guaranteeing that when defending their nest the avian symbol of grace and calm can be quite the formidable foe.
