JENNI TAKES ADORABLE ORPHANS UNDER HER WING
THEY’RE oh-so-cute and barely a week old but don’t touch.
These adorable little fluffballs are not allowed to be hugged – at least by anyone other than their wildlife carer – for fear the cygnets could be “humanised’’, which would make a return to the wild difficult.
But don’t despair. We’ll all be seeing a lot more of the pair once they’re released because they will grow into beautiful adult swans on the lakes of the Gold Coast.
According to wildlife carer Jenni Abbott, the lovable orphans are some of the first to be cared for on the Coast in five years.
Ms Abbott took them under her wing at her Nerang home three days ago, but previously any baby swans rescued locally were sent 180km north to Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue on the Sunshine Coast.
“The Gold Coast was losing a lot of their swan population because the cygnets would be rescued and taken up to the Sunshine Coast to be cared for but very rarely came back,” Ms Abbott said.
The cygnets were rescued at Mermaid Waters after rogue swans attacked their nesting parents, driving off dad and commandeering the young. It is thought one of birds was trying to adopt the cygnets but another had sinister intentions. Ms Abbott said she had been caring for wild animals for four years but the cygnets – yet to be named – were a first for her.
“They are the most cheeky and playful birds I’ve taken in,” she said.
“They are staying in my quail pen and they are loving the sunshine and grass and jumping in and out of the pond like little kids.”
With a nutritious diet of peas, carrots, corn, lettuce and a side of mealworms, the cygnets are spoiled but Ms Abbott cannot give them too many hugs. “They aren’t allowed to be humanised or else they won’t know how to function in the wild, so while everyone has the urge to give them a cuddle it’s a no-brainer that you shouldn’t. They need to remain wild,” she said.
The swans will be released in about four months.
Ms Abbott said she was setting up a bigger home for cygnets.
“This is my way of giving back to nature,” she said.