Orlando police arrest man recorded snatching baby swans from nest at Lake Eola
Richard Harger Sr., 71, facing charge of third-degree grand theft
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The theft of the cygnets, or newly hatched swans, was recorded by bystanders Sunday who later reported the incident to Orlando police. At the time, the man who took the young waterfowl told the people watching he was rescuing the babies from wildlife that could potentially eat them.
Frank Howard, one of those bystanders, shared the video with News 6.
In the video, a man with a red cooler can be heard telling Howard and his girlfriend he is with a “Lake Eola Park” rescue and the babies will be “dead tomorrow” if he doesn’t take them. He was then seen on video batting away the angry mother and father swans as he scooped up the fluffy swan babies and dropped them into the cooler.