Bella is wearing the green necklace, and Beauregard is behind her.
As you may know, Bella, the permanently injured swan, was relocated to Chicago via the US Postal Service, right from our local Locust Grove office in mid-December! I am happy to report that Bella is doing fabulously well! At this point, she has gained 8 pounds, enough strength in her wings and “good leg” that she is able to hop onto the shore from the pond! I actually never thought that was a possibility, as when Bob Knox, Bella’s new swan keeper, retrieved her from his local post office, even that good leg was not working! I was so worried that having been sitting on it for a week and unable to move it, it too, would be a useless. With council from the Regal Swan Foundation, Bob pumped Bella up with vitamins and medication. It did the trick!
Bell now has a new beau, appropriately named…Beauregard! Beauregard began courting her when Bella was segregated behind a fence, as she was too weak to swim back to the feeder if the wind blew her too strongly in the opposite direction. A fence can’t stop true love: Bella and Beauregard began doing “the love dance” with the fence between them. As she gained strength, Bob removed the fence, and Bella and Beauregard became a bonded pair!
What does the future hold? Cygnets, I hope! Now that Bella is able to stand on one leg, she won’t crush any eggs or cygnets. Had she been unable to stand, she would only have been able to drag herself on the ground, using the “elbows” of her wings. This would have made the survival of any egg or cygnet questionable, at best. When spring arrives, Bob will place Bella and Beauregard together in their own pen to ensure safety and privacy during their mating season.
I wish Bella and Beauregard a beautiful life together! I am so thankful that I was involved in such a heart-warming experience.