The bird was found on Ulverston Canal on Wednesday May 12. Swan rescue volunteer Caroline Sim said: “We’ve lost the female of a long-standing pair today. The couple have had a lot of setbacks recently. “They had two nests destroyed and lost all of their young earlier in the year. The female has been displaying worrying symptoms for several weeks and has now tragically succumbed to whatever illness she had. “She went off her food and became wary of the public, which is completely out of character. “While DEFRA have declared the avian flu crisis over, this new death is very worrying. Without testing the body, we won’t be certain on the cause of death.
CONCERNS have been raised about dogs who are not on leads disrupting and killing wildlife in Ulverston. The RSPCA was called to Ulverston after a deer was attacked by what was believed to have been two Alsatians. The deer jumped a fence before they could get near it, resulting in the RSPCA asking for the community’s help to find it. Sadly it is believed that the deer has now been found dead in a field near Ulverston Canal. Animal advocate Caroline Sim, known as the ‘swan lady’, said: “It’s body, recognisable by the wounds on its legs, was found dead in a field near the canal.
The Mail reported several swans had died as a result of the illness back in November. But now a group of adult swans and two cygnets have settled in the water and are being kept under the watchful eye of Ulverston’s ‘swan lady’ Caroline Sim, who tends to them twice a day. She said: “There was a terrible vacuum with 16 dead and to our joy the flock that hang out on the bay came in. I think people feel a little less awful now rather than coming down the canal and not seeing any swans, and it being a reminder that so many had died.
A woman from Askam has shared her experience of being stalked by a swan after it followed her down the street – and even settled itself outside her front door. Sophie Byers said that she was working from home when she saw a swan walk past her window; little did she know it was the start of an eventful day for her. I think I am being stalked by a swan, she said reflecting on the experience. I was working from home when I saw a swan walking down the street. I thought I was hallucinating or looking at a screen for too long, but next thing it was sat outside my front door.