Loving Swan Dad Steps Up To Raise His Babies After Their Mom Passes Away

Jun 15, 2021 by apost team

Losing a loved one is never easy, especially when you are a single-parent. That is true for animals as well, because their young need to have someone there to feed and protect them just like humans do. In a story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, a father swan is left to raise his six cygnets all by himself after his mate died unexpectedly. 

The swan family lives in the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. They have become local celebrities after many photographers have stopped to document the story and post it on social media. The mother died on May 31, 2021 and there has been no determined cause of death. Now the father is caring for all of his babies on his own, and he is doing a fantastic job.

The inspiring story was documented by both Matthew Raifman and Sylvia Zarco, two photographers who were moved by the story of the father swan and wanted to inspire others in their area. They had been following the swan family since before the eggs hatched and were devastated when their mother passed away. Fortunately, there is still a happy ending to this atypical fairytale. 

Swans mate for life, and this father has proven he is in it for the long haul. His instincts are to protect and care for his young, even when tragedy has struck. The striking photo captured by Raifman shows the father with all six of his cygnets riding on his back as he carries them to safety. Read on to learn more about the touching story.

In a post that was covered by the Boston Globe, Zarco explained what happened to the mother swan in her final moments. “I quickly realized something was wrong with mom. She was resting, sheltering her cygnets like the great mom she’s been for the past week. But she couldn’t lift and hold up her head. She stumbled when she stood, couldn’t swim straight and whatever she did, she only propelled herself backward,” Zarco wrote.

She continued, “When it was clear she couldn’t get back to the nest, (her mate) seemed to help her to the opposite shore where she eventually put her head on the rocks so she wouldn’t drown. But by the time Boston Animal Control could come to her aid, she had already died.”

Raifman wrote on social media about the moment he captured the iconic photo of the father swan: "Today, I finally got a chance to photograph them and found three of the four remaining cygnets hitching a ride on dad while the fourth trailed close behind. I ran to a bridge to the lagoon just in time to take these. Hopefully, our newest swan family is in the clear, but at least all of the Greater Boston Area is pulling for them!"

Speaking to the CBS Boston news team, Raifman explained that he can relate to the swan as a father to a 20-month-old. Raifman said, "I can relate on some level, I think, to what it's like to be a new dad struggling with a challenging situation you need to overcome. As I was looking through the viewfinder, I was just blown away by that opportunity and that really cool experience I was having, to see this baby swan family on top of its dad.” 

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What do you think of this single-father swan? Were you touched by this story? Let us know your thoughts and be sure to send this on to your loved ones.