Lonely black swan bullied by other swans, then turns up with mystery eggs

INDIAN TRAIL, NC (WBTV) - When Ginny came to the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue in Indian Trail, volunteers hoped her life would turn into a happy one.

The rare black swan was rescued from a hoarding situation. Volunteers tried introducing her to the rescue's other black swans, but they bullied and chased her.

Unfortunately, Ginny came from one lonely place to another.

"She started coming up to the house and would talk to her human friends," said CWR director Jennifer Gordon.

Her human friends filled what void they could, but Ginny needed to somehow integrate herself with the other birds. She finally made friends with one of the other swans, but then that bird had to leave. Ginny was alone again.

"We felt bad for her, so we let her go to the aviary in the barn so she'd have a place where she wouldn't have to worry about being chased," Gordon said.

What happened next stunned the staff at CWR.

Ginny built a nest and laid an egg. That's not too unusual because of course, there's no way it could be fertilized.

"But then she laid six eggs," said volunteer Michele Mattioli.

Rescue staff examined the eggs and found fertilized babies inside each one. Usually, the rescue discourages breeding by collecting eggs before they can hatch. In this case, for the lonely black swan, they made an exception.

And they're all still scratching their heads trying to figure out exactly who fertilized the eggs of the swan no one would accept. It's still a mystery.

"It seemed like she finally had a purpose and something to keep her happy," Gordon said.

CWR posted Ginny's miraculous story on Facebook, along with daily live videos showing the swan laying on top of her delicate eggs.

The videos have garnered more than 1 million views. There's no telling how many people might be watching around the first of February when the lonely swan is expected to hatch her babies - and finally have a few companions.

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