Angry swans terrorise students at Warwick University

[dutchman]

Warwick University students are being forced to run the gauntlet of angry swans.


Swan on the attack at Warwick University - photo: Kanishka Arumugam

The birds - who are going through their breeding season at the moment - are said to be behaving particularly aggressively on the campus in Gibbet Hill, Coventry.

Undergraduates on campus who are in a flap say they’ve been confronted by the stroppy swans on their way to lectures.

One student at Warwick University - who wished to remain anonymous - has been capturing images of the birds confronting terrified students.

One particularly irate swan is standing guard on a footbridge and barring humans from crossing.

When the Telegraph arrived on campus, the miscreant bird was on the water enjoying the sunshine near a hall of residence.

But one staff member at the university told us how had to use all his powers of persuasion to protect frightened students earlier in the day.

He said: “I was luring it away to the edge this morning so that people could get across the bridge. It was attacking people - trying to bite them.

“The male was the aggressor, but that’s because the female is just beside the bridge, nesting.

“In the end, my manager called security to get rid of it, but I don’t think they came.’’

One marketing student, Palkein Ratra, 24, had heard stories of vicious assaults on campus.

She said: “I didn’t see the swan this morning, but yesterday evening, my friend was on the bridge and he was eating and the swan just randomly started biting off his jeans.”

Geoff Grewcock - who is manager at Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary - says this type of behaviour is not uncommon: “Because it’s breeding season, it would be normal for swans to behave that way - particularly if they’re in a pair, as in this case.

“The females will be laying eggs or nesting, and this is a territorial thing - there’s nothing you can do to appear less threatening, it’s best to keep well away.

“It will go on for another eight or twelve weeks, but they can actually get even more aggressive once they get cygnets.

“When a swan bites you, it can hurt, but it’s more their wings you have to worry about - they can bruise your legs when they flap them at you.”