by Rena Silverman

Experts at a Gloucestershire wildlife center are claiming to have witnessed a rare "divorce" between a pair of swans. This is only the second "separation" of any kind to be recorded in the history of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge sanctuary, where over 4,000 pairs of Bewick swans have been studied for over 40 years.

Conservationists knew something was wrong when their male swan "Sarindi" returned from annual migration, not with his partner of two years "Saruni",  but with a new bird "Sarind" instead.

Because of how loyal swans are, this usually means that the mate has died.

According the centre's wildlife research officer Julia Newth, with swans, "as long as they are both still alive, they will try to stay together. If they have a change of mate it is perhaps because of mortality, not necessarily through choice."

Conservationists were getting ready to grieve Sarindi's first lover, when something very strange stopped them: she showed up. And, she showed up with a new mate--just like her ex--something unheard of swan culture, where the birds are literally known for being loyal.

After intense observation (or birdwatching, if you will), experts declared that the swans had simply split up and moved on, a sort of swan-like version of humans getting divorced and then remarried.

When asked why they split, Ms. Newth speculated, "failure to breed could be a possible reason."

For centuries, swans have shouldered the Artist's symbol for love and fidelity. With their long-lasting monogamous relationships and their rare ability to pair at the head and bend into a heart, what bird could better illustrate a love story? Operas, fairy tales, and ballets have been inspired by swans. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which remains one of the cornerstones of classical ballet since its premiere in 1877, is a German fairy tale and love story between a princess transfigured into a swan and an ill-fated Prince who forgets his promise. Wagner's Lohengrin, an opera inspired by a Medieval epic poem from the Knight of the Swan tradition. The Ugly Duckling, Hans Christian Andersen's fable about a barnyard-born bird brutally teased by his neighbors until he matures into a graceful swan and essentially "shows them".  In the world of poetry, swans have illuminated the language of Longfellow, Tennyson, both Brownings, even Plath!  In the early 20th century, William Buttler Yeats wrote The Wild Swans at Coole:

Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;

Countless artistic creations across the globe have embraced the longevity of swans in love. But now swans are getting divorced? In the words of John Handy "if you're a swan, you're probably not going to find a swan that looks much better than the one you've got, so why not mate for life?”