The divorce of a pair of swans has surprised the curators of the Slimbridge bird sanctuary, located in Gloucestershire (United Kingdom), who had not seen such a case in the last forty years.
The discovery came as the couple returned to the sanctuary on their annual migration from Arctic Russia. The male swan, named Sarindi, flew in without his partner of two years, Saruni. Instead he was accompanied by a new female, so the experts deduced that Saruni was dead. His surprise was to see her arrive shortly after with another male. After observing them for a few hours, they concluded that Sarindi and Saruni had "ended their relationship" and that each had "moved on with their lives."
This behavior is atypical in swans , since these birds usually mate for life, and only look for a new "spouse" if their partner dies. Analyzing the possible reasons for the separation, researcher Julia Newth and her colleagues have concluded that it could be an "emergency" measure for not being able to procreate.
