Kastoria: The female swan has died – The male refuses to leave his mate

A few days ago, it caused a stir in Kastoria – and not only – the story of two swans in love. The female swan was injured, and her mate stayed by her side, followed the rescuer, and entered the treatment area. 

The story was reported by Nikos Panagiotopoulos, a partner of Arktouros and member of the Municipality's Environmental Protection Society. Unfortunately, the ending is sad, as the female swan did not make it.

The people at the care station took the male swan to transport him to the lake. He resisted and cried out in protest, as he did not want to leave the care facility.

They put him in a car and drove him miles away. Only the swan crossed the lake and returned to the care center before the rescuers even returned.

Nikos Panagiotopoulos described the shocking scene and tragic occupation with the death of the female swan and the male's inability to accept the loss in a Facebook post.

«A sad ending...
So many painful days overshadowed by the breath of death were not enough to diminish the perfection of life, just as love and death are impermanent. She slept peacefully when she received his last caress, when she flew alone on her irrevocable journey... and he stood beside her, looking at her tenderly, believing that in a moment everything would be as it was before.

The departure and acceptance of separation from his partner is painful for him; what is acceptable to him is his constant presence by her side, his strong resistance with cries of protest and his search to return to the station.

We put him in the car, quite anxious, and drove him several kilometers away to the opposite side of the lake, to a completely different environment. He refused to cooperate with us, following the opposite direction from the lake water. At one point, we thought we had succeeded and left the area so that he would not see us and connect us with the events that had taken place.

We failed... the swan crossed the lake and ended up ahead of us in the station area... that's where it still wants to be.

If only we had some of their emotional richness, the fact that animals know good and evil proves their superiority over us humans. As Martin Buber said, “The eyes of an animal have the ability to speak a great language.”.