Vicious swan from Newcastle has caused boating to be banned on Edinburgh pond

Boating has been banned on an Edinburgh pond after a vicious Geordie swan moved in. The male bird and its mate, originally from Newcastle, have taken over Craiglockhart Pond and are rearing cygnets. The swan has been flying across the pond and attempting to pick off any straggling kayakers. The bird is becoming so aggressive the city council has decided on safety grounds to cancel a kayaking holiday camp, costing the authority almost £6,000 in lost bookings. The ornamental pond, which opened in 1878, has been used for boating – without incident – for decades.

The previous pair of swans died last year after raising several sets of cygnets over 20 years and happily sharing the water with kayakers. Kayaking coach Magnus Lyon said the new pair of swans were young and examination of their tags showed they originated 120 miles south in Newcastle. He said: “There has been a pair of swans on the pond since well before I was there and I’ve been doing classes on the pond for ten years or so. Before we would get along and I would brief the kids and we would leave them alone and they would leave us alone. But the new pair are much more aggressive. Usually he picks out stragglers – anyone who is falling behind in the group.



“I have to bunch the kids up and put myself between them. He was getting bolder and I just thought this is something that should not be continuing. At the end of the day we do this for kids to have fun – to pass on a deep-rooted fear of water or wildfowl is not something we want to do.” Mr Lyon said alternative sites for the kayaking classes were being looked into. Colin Seddon, Scottish SPCA Wildlife Centre manager, said: “In this case it appears the birds are either defending a nest site, their young, or their breeding territory. They will see the kayakers as potential predators and will be trying to keep them away. Usually swans will only act in this manner during the breeding season, in which case the best advice would be to steer clear of the area they are defending.”

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh Leisure confirmed: “We have had the same swans in the pond for over 20 years, however recently we received a new breeding pair. The male swan is very territorial and is being very protective over his cygnets. We have taken the decision to cancel the kayaking holiday camps as our main concern is the risk this could have on our holiday camp participants. The swan had been lashing out at our coach who has run these camps for years and he was concerned about the reaction of the swan. We have lost £5,168 of income due to this cancellation however we feel the income is irrelevant over the health and safety of our participants.”