The rather heavy bird was grabbed out of the water while he was mingling with fellow swans seeking food at the King's Head Hotel Moorings, Hoveton. A kindly couple Helvy and Mick from Kent held and calmed him. Upon inspection, a small stainless hook had snagged through his left foot webbing, with a line going directly down past the tongue and jagged teeth like 'lammae', further down into the adjoining 'oesophagus' and 'aspera arteria' or windpipe.
The cob was wrapped in the swan carrier and placed in the cage with a bowl of food and water on a less busy part of King's Staithe. He was very hungry at first, then suddenly found it harder to digest, becoming more distressed.
Poignantly a pen (female swan) kept coming up to the injured cob ~ could it be his mate?
In a curious twist, a couple walked by the penned swan and said they'd asked at 9 o'clock in the morning inside a nearby hospitality place for a swan rescue contact. They were given a telephone number for Twickenham on the River Thames ~ proving that the world wide web, communication and staff training coupled with community spirit can leave a lot to be desired.
Paul landed and "ran a metal detector pointer along the length of his oesophagus, down the neck. No metallic readings showed, although we wanted to check further and be certain he was okay, as he had actually swallowed line; so he was taken to PACT, where an x~ray was taken. He was declared to have no obstructions ~ and was duly returned to the place where he was caught and released. We gave him a good feed of ‘marine duck’ pellets to settle him."
With grateful thanks to Helvy and Mick, Broadland Wildlife Partnership, Wroxham Launch Hire and The Old Mill Restaurant and Bar.
Chris, Paul, Timothy
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