Boy

 

Meet the Swans: Precious/Marlika | Papa/Mama | Boy | Lady | Boulika | Tristan | Brothers

 

 

The latest about Boy (May 2007):

 

Boy, our venerable and much cherished old swan of some 16 years, is a little more sedate than in his heyday, but that doesn’t mean he’s given up the delights of chasing the “youngsters” and sailing in style around the lagoon. He also enjoys quiet time in shady coves where he can preen and have a siesta, undetected by swans that might claim his special spot. 

 

Boy has received glucosamine chondroitin with MSM every 24 hours for over a year, and has clearly benefited from the treatment. The once-stiff senior who limped when walking and had slowed down a great deal can now run with the best of them (especially when being chased by Precious!) and has gained freedom of movement he never had.

 

 

 

Try the 20-Question Quiz about Boy

 

 

Boy has his own unique personality, and one more feature that makes him stand out from all but one other: his feet are pink rather than black. Boy is a rare "Polish Mute" strain due to a recessive gene. Mama Swan is the other.

 

In winter 2005, Precious (“the king”) had taken up with 3-year old Lady, leaving his “-ex” Marlika, to Boy.  

 

 

 

Pictures of Boy with Marlika, Jan 1, 2006 (above and below). Boy is on the left

 

 

 

 

 

With Lady’s death in January 2006, Precious was once again on his own but not for long! He went right out there and stole Marlika back, from under Boy’s nose ….er… bill.

 

Nature won out as Marlika sensed that Precious, the strongest, dominant swan, would be more likely to ensure fertilized eggs and be a good defender of nest and cygnets. Off she went without a second thought, even snapping at Boy as he lurked behind her in the water for a couple of days..

 

 

Precious (front) and Marlika

 

 

Not surprisingly 15-year-old Boy became VERY cranky as the days led to mating and nesting time, and he was strictly on his own. Who could he beat up? Not Papa Swan, second only to Precious, nor Genghis Swan – newer, but incredibly aggressive. Ah! Tristan - the lowest figure on the Swan Totem Pole. So he spent part of each day pursuing “Tweety” around the lagoon; however, the latter being much younger and faster than Boy, actual encounters were few and far between.

 

Poor old Boy, spending the rest of the day at the northeast end of the shore 

in a clump of reeds, where he created his makeshift ‘nest for one.’

 

 

Ensuing months saw Bijan (Precious and Marlika’s cygnet) grow to a fine young swan, and the addition of Isolde (now Tristan’s mate) and in September, the four “Ambleside Kids” (a.k.a. “The Teddies”) arrived at Lost Lagoon

 

With the addition of these lively young birds, Boy was in swan-paradise, especially when the two dominant males (Precious and Papa Swan) are occupied at nesting time, leaving our proud senior to chase the youngsters to his heart’s content. 

 

Far out in the lagoon, you could easily mistake him for Precious - wings up, chugging along after Tristan, Bijan or one of the teddies. The chase starts out with Boy making a mad grab for whatever he can latch onto from a youngster's rear-end - usually nothing, because the young swan makes a quick getaway. Still, there's much splashing and the chase is on! Pushing out into deeper water, pedaling fast as they can. Then, a gradual slowdown by both, and finally a full stop - with Boy deciding to have a quick preen and the youngster ducking his neck into the water for some newfound goodies, and all is calm again. Visitors sometimes think it's a serious attack when they see the water being churned up, but if they come often enough, they soon discover it's mostly for show.

 

 

Boy Chasing one of the Ambleside Kids

 

 

Incredibly, Boy likes to “hang out” with these same youngsters in quieter moments, and they can all often be seen floating in a group on a fine day, preening and dozing together..

 

And on a lovely summer evening, Boy glides across the water in the last rays of the setting sun, a tribute to Nature’s beauty.

 

 

Boy in the evening sun

 

   

20-Question Quiz about Boy

(Click on the "NextQuestion" button to start. 

Scroll down to see your results: Number of 'Tries' and number of 'Correct')


 

Number of Tries:  Number of Correct:

To re-start the quiz, reload (refresh) your browser.

Teachers: You may wish to keep score of the 'Tries' and 'Correct' answers.

 

 

Photos courtesy of Fiona Sinclair


Visit our gallery of pictures

Visit our photo gallery

NEW: Swans building nest in inappropriate area  by: Victoria
We have a male and female breeding pair. This year they built a nest in our garden area which is totally inappropriate due to easy access for predators. There would be no protection for them..
NEW: Grieving behaviour after chased cygnet is killed?  by: Maxine
Hi, a lone cygnet swan that was being chased away by its parent (the male swan) sadly got hit by a bus yesterday and killed whilst both were tussling with each other in the air. Today the male swan..
NEW: Re: Swan flight  by: The Regal Swan
Hi Keith Yes, a swan can take off on land or in the water as long as there is approximately 100 ft or more of clearance, i.e., no trees, buildings, electrical wires, fencing, etc. The Regal Swan
Wild swans at Lost Lagoon?  by: Miki and Fiona
I found your website about the swans of stanely park, great site ! I was wondering if you had any info on whether or not, now that the swans have been moved to a wild life reserve, there are any..
Fiona and the swans   by: Message from Karen
pic I have just been in Vancouver for a couple of days and just prior to leaving I took a 5 mile stroll around Stanley Park culminating at Lost Lagoon. There I saw Fiona feeding the swans and I have to..
Royal swan fight  by: Just trying to kill each other!
I got down to the Lagoon on Sunday Nov 27 and things were pretty calm - Tristan and Isolde came up to eat at this end. Then... Bijan came closer - he must have been pretty hungry, and decided he'd..
We’re Walking on Air!  by: Fiona
pic Having just returned home from a trip to see our former Lost Lagoon swans Tristan, Marika and Bijan in their new location, our happiness cannot be measured. We already knew they were in an ideal..
"Attempted Murder"   by: Jørgen Bjerring
pic Yeasterday - May 22 - I saw two Mute Swans in close contact. During the foreplay the biting was not very aggressive and after a couple of minutes it could look like a mating. But after 15 seconds the..
Elephant and Dog share their love of water   by: Admin
pic The relationship of Bubbles and Bella developed because of their shared love of the water. The pursuit of "aquatic antics" instilled a strong bond between these unlikely pals. Watermark on..