14 DAY TRIAL // Not long ago, a woman in China chanced to witness a rather horrific scene. In a nutshell, the woman claims that she saw a swan drowning itself in one of the country's lakes.
At the time when this bizarre incident occurred, the woman had a camera with her and was, therefore, able to capture the bird's final moments. The photos are available below, but be warned, they are not for the faint of heart.
The swan was left devastated by the loss of its mother
According to Yan Yan Hsiao, who happened to come across the swan while hiking near a lake in China's Henan province, the swan most likely committed suicide after witnessing its mother's demise.
Thus, the woman says that, at the time she first laid eyes on the bird, the feathered creature was quite agitated and kept flapping its wings. The lifeless body of another, much older swan was floating not far from it.
“I looked over and saw the swan which was clearly a young animal alongside an older bird that was clearly dead. She had either died because of the cold or old age but either way the young bird was very distressed,” said Yan Yan Hsiao.
The woman says that, after flapping its wings for a while, the swan simply stuck its head in the water and failed to ever again come up for air. Needless to say, the bird eventually drowned. In fact, Yan Yan Hsiao suggests that it died in a matter of minutes.
“After calling and flapping its wings, it then stuck its head in the water and I thought it had calmed down, but then I realized it was keeping its head in the water. Minutes later, it was dead,” the woman detailed, as cited by DM.
What wildlife researchers have to say about this incident
Yan Yan Hsiao might be convinced that what she saw was a young swan committing suicide following the death of its mother, but wildlife researchers wish to stress that these birds have never before been documented to end their own life because of emotional distress.
Then again, it looks like there are stories about dogs and even ducks that apparently took their own life after losing their owner or their mate. Otherwise put, whether or not animals can sometimes choose to end their own life is a mystery that wildlife researchers are yet to solve.
