A Close Call

Friday November 27th around noon, a commotion broke out in the Facebook group Ås Kommunes Venner as reports that the cygnet in Skogdammen had frozen stuck to the ice.

Journalist: Hedda Jørgensen
Translator: Kaja Mie Botnen
Photographer: Herman Bjørnson Hagen

Dramatic: Eyewitness Trond-Christian Fjeldheim Andresen points out the location of the dramatic event. — **Dramatic:** Eyewitness Trond-Christian Fjeldheim Andresen points out the location of the dramatic event.

Geomatics student Tord Kristian F Andersen (25) casually strolled past the pond a little after ten that morning, when he was grabbed hold of by a strange woman. She told him that all autumn long, she had fed the cygnet at the same time and place, but this day something had changed. The cygnet seemed to be stuck to the ice as though frozen. As she did not have a phone on her, Tord had to call the authorities and explain the situation, while the woman contended herself with throwing bread at the cygnet. His call was transferred but Tord only met a dial tone on the other end. Luckily, the cygnet got loose on its own and Tord could hang up.

Photo: Annette Tangstad — **Photo:** Annette Tangstad

Although the danger seemed to have passed for now, the day laid ahead of them still, cold and long. At noon, Ås Kommunes Venner reported that the cygnet had frozen stuck again. One passionate soul volunteered to swim out and get it, and a student at MINA offered up the faculty rubber boat to the mission.

After reading about what happened, environmental physics- student Vetle Malum (23) and some friends went to the pond to see what was happening. They called some more friends, students at MINA and the veterinary school, and this paid off. At about 2 o’clock, the wildlife committee and a specialist were at it with boat and landing net, trying to capture the swan. In the end, they had enough manpower present to surround the swan and capture it. Vetle says that “the irony of this is that we heard that the cygnet has not left the pond because it gets fed here.”

Half past one o’clock, Anette Tangstad reported that the cygnet was captured, marked with ring number U025 and moved to Hvitsten to live in the Oslo fjord. I contacted Anette to find out what really happened, because on facebook there is a heated discussion about where to place the blame. Anette tells me that the swans have been brooding on the pond the last three years, and the last two years the cygnets have been run over by cars or eaten by pike. She has contacted two different swan experts to find out what to do to prevent this from happening again. One said that the fake brood island in the pond should be removed, and the other recommended fencing in the pond to stop the swans from wandering off. Anette says that the cygnet has been fed with the wrong food when Vetle points out that it has gotten two bread daily.