Swan Eggs Stolen From Prospect Park, City Officials Say
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A mystery has been hatched in Brooklyn. The Parks Department says it is investigating the theft of swan eggs from Prospect Park.
A pair of swans living in the Brooklyn park are an unmistakable and majestic sight. They're the only ones there after seven others mysteriously disappeared last year.
Now, it seems their nest and seven newly laid eggs have also gone missing.
"Someone intentionally did it," Mary Beth Artz of the group W.I.L.D. For Prospect Park said.
The community group monitors the wildlife and says she noticed something was wrong when she saw the male and female swan swimming away from their nest over the weekend, rather than closely guarding the site.
She fears human hands not only took the eggs, but tried to cover up the crime, by wiping away any traces of the nest.
"It's probably some random person, can take the eggs for anything, they can consume them, possibly breeding them, I don't know, I think if it was a bunch of kids or somebody playing a joke, I think that nest would have stayed intact," Artz explained.
The New York City Parks Department said because the eggs were so new, it would be too early for them to have hatched. Another animal eating them is also unlikely.
This nest was in a secluded area, behind a fence and not easy to get to unless someone was willing to go out of their way.
It is a parks violation to tamper with any animal or bird, nest or their eggs, and is considered a misdemeanor offense.
The crime carries a punishment of up to 20 days in jail or up to a $1,000 fine.
