3 Teens Arrested After Death of Beloved Swan in N.Y.

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Two teens were underage, while one was 18 years old, according toNBC News.

“Unfortunately, the investigation led to the discovery that Faye, the female swan, had been killed over the weekend,” the police department shared.

After the killing at the pond, the swan was taken to the house of one of their aunts where it was cooked, according to theAssociated Press.

According to Manlius police Sgt. Ken Hatter, the three teens hopped a fence between midnight and three a.m. on Saturday night before decapitating the mother swan with a knife at the pond,Syracuse.com reported.

The swan apparently didn’t “fight back” because she was nesting. “She wasn’t fighting back and they were able to capture her,” Hatter said, perNBC News.

The teens told police they “believed it was just a very large duck,” and “did not know it was a swan,” Hatter continued, adding that they were hunting and one of them had a hunting license — although it is illegal to hunt swans in New York.

“The mother swan was consumed,” Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. “Sad to say, but that’s what they did.”

As for the cygnets, one of the suspects, who worked at the store in Salina where two of the babies were found, said “they planned to raise the birds as pets and had no plans to eat them,” perNBC News.

Now, “the cygnets are currently in the care of a biologist, who ensures the health and wellbeing of the swans for the Village of Manlius,” according to the Manlius police department.

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The teenagers were arrested Tuesday on charges including grand larceny and criminal mischief, according to Hatter.

However, Faye’s partner, Manny, may be removed from the pond and relocated because there is a fear he will become “combative” in the wake of Faye’s death, NBC News reported. Since swans mate for life, it’s possible that Manny might become a threat to the cygnets, Whorrall said.

“We will let the four cygnets grow up and we are hoping that two of those cygnets will mate and then we will be back to the way it used to be,” Whorrall said.

To ensure the safety of the swans, the town is looking into new security features. “This is not ending. We will continue to have swans and hopefully, at some point get back to normal," Whorrall said, adding, “We’ve had swans for over 100 years. We’re going to continue to have swans. It’s part of this village.”

source: people.com