Rare Lakeland swan injured

LAKELAND - In Lakeland, swans are prized as symbols of the city, and many that live in the various lakes are rare and irreplaceable.

"We had our first pair given to us by Queen Elizabeth, and since then, they have become a family treat, to go down to Lake Morton and feed the swans," said City of Lakeland spokesman Kevin Cook.

But Wednesday morning, one the most rare swans was found with a fishing hook in its neck.

A Good Samaritan saw it and called the city -- just in the nick of time, because the fishing hook was near a major artery in the bird's neck.

"Left in the wild, it very likely would have died, because the injury was already infected," explained veterinarian Jeffrey Gardner. "And left alone, it would have kept trying to work the hook out, during which it would have worked it deeper and it might have hit an arterial structure. It was only a short distance when we got it out."

Gardner's family has been treating the swans for free for decades. He took the fishing hook out, and medicated the bird.

The situation likely happened because someone was illegally fishing in the lake, and Gardner says it's frustrating, especially with this particular swan. It is so rare, there are only thought to be three others like it in the world.

It's called a "Silver Swan," and the species popped up around 2000. That's when two black swans bred, and with a roll of the genetic dice, they somehow produced a silver baby—the first one in the world.

Over the years, a few more, including this injured one, were born..

Someone's negligence or ignorance almost took it out. But for whatever reason, it lucked out and survived, and its vet says its prognosis is very good.