Tragedy

As I walked through the park this afternoon from the far end (from us) I spotted what looked like the beginnings of the young swan expulsions. Napoleon had the feathers all puffed up and seemed to have singled out one of the youngsters and was chasing him round the pond. I could see no sign of Josephine, which I thought was a bit strange, but as I walked further along I could see a white patch amongst the reeds where sometimes they nest. However, a dog walker indicated to me that this was indeed Josephine, and that she was sadly no more. This was a huge shock and when I went to have a look, it was evident that not only was she quite dead, but that something (probably a fox) had been having a feast on the body. My photo of the remains is too gruesome to post, but the trail of white feathers further along tells its own story (extra). Another park user who was observing said that he had seen  Josephine yesterday, and although she was preening herself, he thought she didn’t look quite right as she was sitting amongst the reeds, but rather oddly positioned. We’re working on the assumption that she was sick and died, rather than anything more sinister.

When I returned later in the afternoon with Chris, the local constabulary were taking an interest in the scene of the incident (2nd extra). I imagine the park rangers will take over and deal with the remains tomorrow.

Napoleon still seemed to be chasing the youngsters around. His world has just taken a bit of a battering. I wonder what happens next.