Don't Mess With These Gay Swans and Their 'Eggs'

A gay swan couple was almost euthanized for their aggressive behavior. Instead, they were relocated to a wildlife sanctuary.

For the past year, the pair of birds had been attacking swimmers as well as those who strolled by their nest in Grundlsee, an Austrian town. Several people were hospitalized with minor injuries. One victim had a 10-inch wound.

"We thought this was a temporary breeding or courtship behavior," Franz Steinegger, the mayor of Grundlsee, told OONachrichten, a regional newspaper. "But this year it got worse."

Steinegger prepared to have the animals killed, which is required by Austrian law if wild animals become a threat to humans. But animal rescuer Alexander Groder intervened, trapping the birds and transporting them to a protected pond.

"It may be two male swans living in a relationship," Groder said. "But one of them is strongly suppressed by the other, and I could imagine that the aggression comes from there as well."

The swans were also protecting their nest. But instead of eggs, there were sitting on brightly colored plastic cups. It is not clear if the cups will accompany the swans to their new home.

Swans typically mate for life. Same-sex attraction has been observed in around 1,500 species of animals.