This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Monday, 28 December 2020
Swan Power
Mute swans pair bond closely. This was, apparently, the cause of several trains being delayed on the Kassel to Gottingen line, in Germany, at Fuldatal (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/28/swan-song-german-firefighters-remove-mourning-swan-blocking-railway-line). One swan appeared to be 'mourning' its partner, who had been killed whilst flying into the overhead electricity lines that powered the trains. The mourning swan sat on the rail tracks, until both it and its partner's body were removed by police and fire-fighters. The story is treated somewhat anthropomorphically but pair bonds are important to swans and many other bird species.
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1 comment:
Just a clarification. It is quite common for a member of a pair bond to spend time in the vicinity of its dead mate (in this case, caught in the overhead wires) but describing it as 'mourning' is sticking a human interpretation on it.
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