ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando city leaders launched a program Thursday to help raise money to better care for the iconic swans that call downtown’s Lake Eola Park home.
They are calling it “Swan-a-Thon,” and hope one swan’s somber love story will inspire residents to donate.
One city commissioner just brought two new swans to the lake in the hopes one of them will mate with a lone black neck swan named Queenie.
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This is part of a bigger push to make sure the swans at Lake Eola will be around for generations to come.
On Thursday, Shawn Pennington and other residents stood by to see the two new black neck swans, which they hope will be a match for Queenie, being released.
Pennington is new to Orlando and quickly got involved with trying to help bring Queenie a mate.
“The way this whole thing came about, with taking care of our swans, was they were getting hurt,” said Commissioner Patty Sheehan. “People were abusing them, and we really weren't taking care of them. We were not giving them veterinary care. We didn't have a proper feeding program.”
The program is aimed to help bring more swans to Lake Eola and support their well-being and health through donations made by the public.
“There is a black neck shortage, who knew?” Sheehan said. “So they ended up being $4,000. What I did was I loaned from my discretionary budget. We're hoping through the Swan-a-Thon, we can replenish that. If not, it'll just be a donation from my budget.”
Sheehan said another priority is making sure the swans have the right diet.
“Queenie's mate died because somebody fed him popcorn,” Sheehan said. “Feeding these swans the proper diet is critically important.”
The two male swans that were released will first have to get familiar with the lake and the other swans before they are introduced to Queenie in July.
Anyone interested in donating to the Swan-a-Thon program can do so through the city's website.
Commissioner says Queenie lost her mate after someone fed it popcorn. @WFTV pic.twitter.com/dDQg0HNdqe
— Johny Fernandez (@JfernandezTv) May 30, 2019
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