Three upstate New York teenagers killed a mother swan after mistaking her for a duck, cooked her for dinner and kidnapped her four babies, police said.
The swan named Faye was reportedly turned into a meal by a group of youths on Memorial Day in Manlius, a village of 4,600 on the outskirts of Syracuse, reports the New York Post. The village is home to a pond where generations of city-owned swans have lived since 1905.
Authorities said Wednesday that the teenagers, three friends aged 16, 17 and 18, thought Faye was a duck before slaughtering her for their meal.
“They didn’t know it was a swan, and they didn’t know it wasn’t a wild animal that actually belonged to the village,” said Manlius Police Sgt.
The three suspects have been charged with felony grand larceny and criminal mischief, as well as misdemeanor conspiracy and criminal trespassing, the New York Post.
Police say the suspects jumped a fence surrounding the Manlius Swan Pond between midnight and 3 a.m. Monday and killed Faye.
After killing her, the youths then took her carcass to one of their homes, where they cooked and ate it.
The teenagers also nabbed Faye’s four babies, planning to keep them as pets.
Facebook screenshot – Elena Nezhdanova
In a Facebook post, police said multiple leads from citizens led them to the location of two of the missing cygnets at a Shop City Plaza business in Salina, New York.
The two remaining cygnets were later recovered from a private home in Syracuse.
Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said the four baby swans, around 4 weeks old, are now in the care of a biologist who looks after the health of the town’s swans.
Faye’s companion, Manny, was unhurt in the attack. He was photographed swimming alone in the pond on Tuesday.
He will be removed from the water and relocated before his cygneaux and those of Faye are put back in the pond.
Whorrall explained that because swans mate for life, Manny might become combative if he encounters the young swans.