British police need training for fighting swans? This is no joke

Recently, a British police station announced that its officers had just completed training on a course related to "swan control". In short, it is about learning how to deal with disruptive swans without hurting themselves (as much as possible) or the swans.

Some of you may wonder, isn't it just a bird? Why is it so serious? Yes, it is. One reason is that swans are under special protection of the British royal family, so the British police have some difficulty in doing anything. Another reason is that swans can really fight... If you don't believe it, let's take a look.

In March 2022, a video of an unlucky young man being brutally beaten by a black swan went viral on the Internet.

From WeChat group

Some friends may be wondering, it’s just a black swan, why is it so serious to beat such a strong guy?

It’s really true... Let’s talk about it below.

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01

Don't mess with any goose

In fact, it is not just black swans, it is best not to mess with any goose. Swans are birds of the Anatidae family in the order Anseriformes, and are relatives of wild geese and domestic geese. This family is not a good one, even the seemingly naive and harmless domestic geese are the top fighters among poultry. There are many sayings about the fighting power of geese, such as "one goose is worth two dogs, it is better to be bitten by a dog than pecked by a goose, and the fighting power of a dead otaku is only 0.5 of a goose", etc. Although it is not scientifically verifiable, friends who have provoked geese when they were young may still remember the fear of being chased by geese...

Domestic geese are not easy to mess with, but swans are even more aggressive. For example, the mute swan, which is often in the news for beating people/animals, can weigh nearly twice as much as a domestic goose, more than ten kilograms, and has a wingspan of more than two meters, which is equivalent to Yao Ming lying sideways... Even the slightly smaller black swan can have a wingspan of up to two meters. Swans have strong flying abilities and powerful wings, so they are quite powerful in a fight.

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02

How strong is the swan's fighting power?

Let’s first talk about the team’s achievements against animals: In 2020, a tourist captured a swan that became furious and chased a fox that tried to attack a baby swan, causing the fox to flee into the lake in panic.

Screenshot from: the projects world

Coincidentally, similar news broke in 2019. Someone was walking a small dog by the lake, and a swan suddenly attacked the dog and beat it to death.

When a swan encounters a human, that human will also have bad luck.

According to a report in the British Sun last year, an 8-year-old child was beaten on the head and bleeding by a swan while playing by the river.

Screenshot from: The Sun

In 2012, a more serious tragedy occurred in Chicago, USA, where a mute swan attacked a single kayaker, causing the rower to capsize and fall into the water. The swan was relentless, flapping its wings as the victim tried to surface for air, eventually causing him to drown. Fighting on the swan's home turf is really too dangerous...

As for the guy who was beaten up by the Black Swan, fortunately he was not seriously injured, but he was also beaten up and covered with bruises...

From WeChat

Of course, these are relatively extreme cases, but they are enough to tell everyone: swans are not to be trifled with!

03

Is the swan an aggressive animal?

Although there are cases like those mentioned above, in general, swans do not frequently and actively hurt people. What can make them fight is often a "principle issue" that cannot be compromised - one is "baby" and the other is "home".

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Let's talk about the baby first. Swans are very good parents. They will take good care of their baby swans and resort to violence if they feel their baby is threatened. The unlucky fox mentioned above tried to sneak attack the baby swan, which crossed the swan's bottom line.

In addition, swan parents often raise chicks together, so if you threaten a baby swan, you may even be beaten by a "male and female" doubles attack. Someone once filmed a swan couple (suspected) teaming up to beat a seagull to death - it is well known that seagulls have the habit of stealing other birds' chicks and eggs.

Swans also have a certain sense of territory and are very careful about their nests. If other animals, including humans, enter their vigilance range, they may attack. When swans build nests and raise their offspring, they often choose to build nests near water. The swan attacks mentioned above all occurred in lakes, rivers, ponds, etc. This is the reason.

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In addition, swans usually don't make a big move right away. They often make a "hissing" sound as a warning, then stare at you, bend their necks, stand up and slightly spread their wings. If you see a swan making these movements , just leave quickly.

Having said that, although the swan's flapping wings is really scary and it is very painful to hit the face with its wings, it will not directly cause serious injuries to adults. Some urban legends say that "the flapping of swan wings can easily break human bones", which is too exaggerated. You should know that one of the reasons why birds can fly freely is that the hollow structure of the bones makes their weight lighter, but this also reduces the strength of the bones. Therefore, even if the swan swings a powerful blow and hits our arm, it will be the first to break the bone.

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But for children who are short and weak, the attack of a swan is enough to cause the child to fall, and may cause more serious injuries (as well as psychological trauma in childhood). Therefore, as parents, we must educate our children to keep a distance from wild animals, including swans, and not to invade their territory, thereby attracting their attacks.

After understanding the fighting power of swans, I believe everyone will understand that the experts from the Wildlife Rescue Center said that "stay away from swans to avoid getting hurt" is not an exaggeration. In fact, not only swans, but also any wild animals and stray cats and dogs we encounter, we should keep a distance and not touch them. This can not only protect ourselves, but also keep the animals from being disturbed, and at the same time prevent infectious diseases. If you think an animal may need help, you can call the local animal rescue center or forestry department and ask for professional help - you see, even British police need training.

Author | Ding Zong

Review | Huang Chengming, Researcher, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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