Yong Hsieh and his wife were enjoying a relaxing walk near a river in Korla, Xinjiang (in Western China), when they came across a very peculiar sight. In amongst the smaller mergansers, a large swan appeared to have something coating its beak. Upon further inspection they discovered it was a solid layer of ice.
The situation was troublesome, as the swan was unable to eat, and was possibly having trouble breathing. Luckily, there is a local organization called the Swan Guard, a group of volunteers focused on swan welfare.
Yong told the New York Post that “As we walked toward them, we saw the swan, but as we got closer, we noticed its beak was covered with ice.”
What was peculiar was that the other birds in its vicinity were perfectly fine, leaving a mystery of how this particular swan was the only one who managed to get in such a predicament.
Sheng Liang of the Swan Guard arrived on the scene and and took the distressed bird to a safe, warm “swan house,” where the icy coating the beak quickly melted. After a healthy meal, the swan was released back into the wild, hopefully a little wiser from its uncomfortable run-in with Jack Frost.
