Otis swans around on his own
Solo bird in Victoria Park not interested in finding a new mate, city staff say
KITCHENER — Otis is a bachelor, and he’s happy to stay that way.
For years, two swans graced the waters of Victoria Park Lake, along with all the Canada geese, mallard ducks and other birds.
But the female bird died in September 2012. An autopsy revealed it had an inflammation of the brain caused by a parasite called a schistosome. The swan likely got the parasite after swallowing a snail as it scooped up plant material from the bottom of the lake.
When Pam Kinney moved back to the area recently, and began to take walks in the park with her dog, she was astounded to see just one solitary swan.
He seemed “sad and lonely looking, floating across the pond,” Kinney said, especially with so many other water birds nearby, all in large family groups with parents watching protectively over their young.
“These family groups all seemed filled with happiness, compared to the poor lone swan that drifted in silence, alone with no mate.” The city, which owns the swans, periodically gets calls or questions from people who wonder about the lone remaining swan, whose name is Otis.
Over the years, park staff have made numerous attempts to find him a compatible mate. The large, elegant birds can live 25 years or more, and generally mate for life, though they will take another mate if their partner dies.
Shortly after the female died, staff tried a bit of direct matchmaking, bringing in another female in the hopes there might be some electricity between her and Otis.
“That didn’t go too well,” says Tom Margetts, Kitchener’s supervisor of major parks. “He drove the other bird away.”
Parks staff have since resorted to more gentle matchmaking.
Every year in late fall, Otis is taken to Stratford to spend the winter with the fleet of
30 swans owned by the City of Stratford. Though the birds can handle the cold, the city moves them to winter quarters behind the arena closest to the Avon River, to be sure the birds have access to drinking water and food over the winter.
The birds are in a common enclosure, and Kitchener staff always tell the Stratford folks they’d happily take a second swan back to Victoria Park, if Otis expresses any interest in a particular bird.
“When he’s in Stratford, he’s in with 30 other swans,” Margetts said.
“He has every opportunity to pair up with another swan. But every year, it seems not to happen.”
Swans can be quite clear about their interest in a prospective mate, circling around each other in the water, blowing bubbles and weaving their heads rhythmically back and forth. But the bachelor swan of Kitchener has never shown any interest in another bird since losing his mate.
“He seems to be perfectly content doing his thing by himself,” Margetts said. So parks staff have decided to respect his choice. They keep a regular eye on him, checking daily to make sure he appears healthy, and say they’ll take action if at some point if he expresses interest in any of his winter companions.
In the meantime, they’re happy to leave him to his bachelor ways, with a gentle reminder to park visitors to admire the birds from a distance and not feed them.