Most of us are captivated by the sheer beauty and elegance of Black Swans, their sweet companionship with one another, and the way they take care of their young… also WA’s bird emblem. Being violent toward them is unthinkable for most of us. But last Friday evening (1 July) we heard from a member of SERAG of a highly disturbing incident related to her by friends at the Attadale Dog Reserve who saw a jet-skier deliberately run into a group of Black Swans around 4pm. They believed a Black Swan was hit and commented on the ‘horrendous noise’ that came from the bird.
The jet skier was then seen doing a loop and taking another run at the birds before stopping further out opposite Applecross foreshore. Although it was thought the swan had been killed it wasn't possible to confirm this. One of the witnesses called the Police who said they would inform the Water Police. We have since been in touch with the Water Police who remembered the incident and referred us to the Department of Parks and Wildlife.
It's unlikely we'll get to the bottom of this. And the whereabouts of the injured/dead (?) bird isn't known. But please be on the lookout for similar violent incidents and call the Police as well as DBCA’s Wildcare helpline on 9474 9055 or WA Seabirds Rescue 6102 8464 (8am – 6pm, 7 days a week)