LIFE LESSON

June 21, 2009
A crowd gathered to watch, coaching from the sidelines, cheering them on, heaving a collective sigh of disappointment when once again they failed. The cygnets were facing their greatest challenge since leaving the nest.
The two oldest had already been out for their inaugural swim with the cob (male) while the pen (female) had continued to incubate the remaining blue-gray eggs in the clutch. These early arrivals had developed enough strength to climb the bank and join their parents, following their instinct to preen, using the serrated bill that functions like a comb in caring for the approximately 25,000 feathers that they will develop.

The parents had chosen a place to emerge from the water that offered a bit of a ramp. The four youngest, now on their first excursion into their new world, had been left in the water as Mom and Dad and the elder ones groomed themselves beneath the low-lying sun. It was at this point that I joined the crowd who had gathered to observe this lesson in nature.


Left behind at the river's edge, the remaining four repeatedly attempted to climb the bank. As they struggled valiantly to attain the shore, the crowd who watched were clearly intrigued. I found myself muttering, “Why doesn't she help them?”, wondering if they would die from exhaustion before being able to get out of the water. At one point Mom moved a little closer to the edge, as if to encourage them. I thought she would reach in and help them up, but no, she returned to attending to her feathers.

As I pondered this lack of assistance, I realized that I was observing a life lesson in progress. The ability to make it to shore was a skill they needed to learn. In my humanity I wanted Mom to help, to intervene, to make it easier for them. In the long run perhaps she, with nature's wisdom, knew that such assistance would actually deprive them of the opportunity to develop the strength they needed to survive.

We watched as long as we could, and still they remained at river's edge; she watching, they struggling.

I was away for the week-end. Tonight I will walk down to the river to find them. I hope there will still be six little ones. If so, no doubt they will be stronger. If not... I will need to submit to the truth that nature is not always kind.

Much of my information was obtained from Ivory, A. 2002. "Cygnus olor" http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cygnus_olor.html.