Crinkly the crooked-necked swan finally finds love after years without a mate

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With his crooked neck and ungraceful flying, Crinkly the swan was never going to be seen as an ideal mate to the females of his species.

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Crinkly the crooked-necked swan has finally found a mate

Since 2001, he has been making the journey from the Arctic tundra to Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Gloucestershire, for Christmas, where he has become a favourite with staff and visitors.

But until today, none the females at the trust was prepared to mate with him.

However, now it seems one of them has been won over by his charms.

Spokeswoman Jools Mackin said: "We are delighted because we think Crinkly has finally found a girlfriend.

"He appears to be loosely associating with another Slimbridge Bewick's swan called Taciturn.

"It is too early to say whether or not they are mates but we'll be monitoring them over the next few days to see.

"They are flying in and out together and we do hope they will become mates. We were worried about Crinkly because he is such a strange-looking bird."

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Love is in the air on swan lake: Crinkly has found a mate

Experts at Slimbridge were amazed when Crinkly first arrived as a cygnet with parents Lucius and Coletta, with a strangely deformed neck.

Despite this disability, which makes him less aerodynamic, Crinkly has managed to survive seven migrations from breeding grounds on the Russian Arctic tundra which means that he has flown over 21,000 kilometres.

A birth defect appears to be the likely cause of his unusual deformity, Ms Mackin said.

Swans fly back to Britain at this time of year because conditions in the tundra make feeding impossible.

Visitors to the centre should be able to recognise Crinkly's distinctive neck at the popular daily swan feeds.

 

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