Baby swan's close call serves as reminder to discard fishing line properly
One of our baby swans had a close call that serves
as a reminder of the importance of discarding fishing line properly.
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| The baby swans on Magnolia Lake on Wednesday. |
The baby swan, which left its nest for the first time this week, grabbed
a fishing lure Thursday evening that was hanging from a tree in one of the lakes, sending the
hook through its little beak. The baby was
hanging from the line, and the parents were frantic.
Our Security team contacted one of our residents who we knew has experience in bird and animal rescues and rehabs, Jo Coeyman. She quickly grabbed a kayak to reach the baby swan.
“While she was getting the kayak, the parents kept
swimming up to me, I swear they were asking for help,” said Tracy Wright, our
Security teammate who responded to the lake to help the swan. “I told them it
was coming.”
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| Ocean Lakes resident Jo Coeyman, who has experience in animal rescues, carefully removes the fishing lure from the baby swan's beak. |
Coeyman was able to get to the baby – the protective parents swam about 50 feet away allowing her to help – and carefully removed the fishing hook and line.
“The baby swan reunited with its mother and the family swam
together again,” Wright said.
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| The released baby swan swims to join its family. |
Luckily, the baby was OK. But this close call is a reminder
to dispose of fishing line the proper way; drop it in the special receptacle
for it next to our lakes. If you get it stuck in a tree while casting, do your best to reel it back in - don't just leave it.
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| Please discard your fishing line in the special receptacle - there's one at all of our lakes. |
Never toss fishing line into the lake. The close call with the baby swan
is just one example of how the improperly discarded line and hook can negatively impact wildlife. Birds,
turtles and other animals also can easily get tangled in the line, which could
lead to injuries, drowning, strangulation or starvation.
And that monofilament fishing line sticks around – most are
not biodegradable and can last hundreds of years.
Please use the fishing line receptacles! Let's do our part to help the environment and keep our wildlife safe.
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Posted by Ocean Lakes Family Campground on Wednesday, March 29, 2017
