LAKELAND, Fla. -- Six swans have been hit by vehicles in Lakeland in the past three weeks and five of them have died from their injuries.
The lone survivor is being nursed back to health by Dr. Patricia Mattson, who's charged with caring for the city's swan population, the Lakeland Ledger reported.
Most of the regal birds of Lakeland's Lake Morton are descendants of a pair that England's Queen Elizabeth II donated to the city in 1957. At as much as 50 pounds, the white birds aren't so quick on land, which can prove deadly for the animals traveling near Lake Morton Drive.
The Ledger reported some 4,600 vehicles daily travel along Lake Morton Drive, which encircles the body of water home to about 70 swans.
The swans are considered city property and protected by an ordinance that makes it a crime to harm them or any bird or fowl within city limits.
Continue reading on the Ledger.
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