If there is something wrong with the cygnet, i.e., sick or injured, the male parent will try to end its sufferering and prevent any predators from getting to the cygnet or following it back to the rest of the family.

If it is the runt and cannot keep up with the rest of the family, it will also be banished or killed. A slow moving crying cygnet alerts predators that something is wrong and that young are nearby. This is not an alert a parent in the wild wants to occur while other young are in the area. The Regal Swan