Nesting swan killed in NY was not a random bird.

The Tragic Tale of Faye the Swan

Faye the mute swan and her mate, Manny, were beloved in the upstate New York town of Manlius for their graceful beauty. They and their predecessors have been town mascots since swans were first introduced to the town in 1905. Faye was a regional celebrity, and people loved to visit the Manlius Swan Pond off Fayette Street near the village offices to see her and Manny.

However, on Memorial Day weekend, Faye’s absence was noticed sometime after the annual parade. Residents notified police, who reviewed video footage for clues. They discovered Faye’s four recently hatched offspring, known as cygnets, were also missing.

On Wednesday, Manlius police delivered some good news and some bad news at a news conference. The good news was that the four cygnets had been recovered — two at a local shopping center and two at a nearby home. The bad news was very bad indeed: Faye, police said, had been butchered and eaten.

“Three suspects — teens that are neighborhood friends and went to high school together — hopped the Manlius Swan Pond fence between midnight and 3 a.m., Saturday into Sunday,” the report said.

Police Sgt. Ken Hatter told reporters that Faye didn’t struggle or fight back because she was nesting. The teens decapitated her with a knife and then took her carcass home, where she was cooked and consumed, Hatter said.

The suspects — ages 18, 17, and 16 — pleaded ignorance. “They believed it was just a very large duck,” Hatter said. “They did not know it was a swan.”

Really? So we’ve got three high schoolers unable to identify a swan?

The police hinted the teens are not native to the U.S., referring vaguely to their “cultural beliefs” regarding the waterfowl dinner. It turns out that wasn’t the reason. “It wasn’t because they were lacking in food,” Hatter said. “They were hunting.”

The young “hunters” told police they thought Faye was a wild animal and they were unaware it belonged to the village. “They did not have any idea of the significance that the swans had on this community,” Hatter said.

Eman Hussan, 18, of Syracuse, and the two juveniles — unnamed because they are minors — were charged with two felonies, third-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal mischief, as well as two misdemeanors: fifth-degree conspiracy and third-degree criminal trespass, the Post-Standard reported. The Department of Environmental Conservation may bring additional charges.

It’s hard to argue with those who demand justice for Faye. Wherever these young men hail from, they surely knew that the public in general — and police in particular — would have a problem with what they were doing. Even if these teens are newcomers to the United States and have never seen or heard of a swan, there’s not a country in the world where someone jumping a fence at 3 a.m. is assumed to be an honest, upstanding citizen with good intentions.

It will be interesting to see which scenario plays out. Either way, Manny the swan will be gliding alone on Swan Pond for the foreseeable future, a reminder that things have changed in the town of Manlius — and perhaps the U.S. as a whole — forever.

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