Two members of Canberra's beloved black swan family at Yerrabi Pond have reportedly died after being mauled by dogs in what one witness described as a horrific and distressing attack.
The incident has sparked calls to penalise the dog owner and improve safety for the waterbird species around the popular pond.
A Bonner woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she was walking with her husband and toddler along Benaroon Circuit towards the pond when the incident occurred on Saturday, August 22.
She said she was taking pictures of two adult swans and three cygnets, or baby swans, when a man walking a dog on a leash and another off-leash lost control of both his animals.
"He just didn't have control with either of them, even the one on the lead, they weren't listening. He was yelling at them like, 'Stop, stop, no!'," the woman said.
"I moved myself, my partner, and my baby away from them, but I could still see what was happening."
She said the dog dragged one of the adult swans away and started mauling it while the dog on the lead got hold of a cygnet.
The witness said the adult swan died and the cygnet was still alive but critically injured in the incident prompting her to call ACT Wildlife for help.
"It was horrific. My little one didn't know what's going on ... but it was quite distressing. I was crying on the phone, even trying to tell the wildlife people because you just feel so helpless," the woman said.
"It didn't look good. One of the parent swans and the two other babies nearby, I think they were looking for the baby and the other parent swan ... they just kept calling out, like not knowing what happened."
The witness said she regretted not speaking up during the attack because she was afraid it would provoke the dogs and feared for her own family's safety.
She said the man, who was wearing a business hoodie with a name and phone number, fled the location with his dogs and that she had provided a photo of it to ACT Wildlife.
Jo McKinley, a Gungahlin resident who visits the swans every day, told The Canberra Times ACT Wildlife took the injured cygnet to an emergency vet but the bird died a short time later.
"The surviving mother and her remaining cygnets have continued to be seen at the pond in the days since, watched closely by community members who visit daily," she said.
The animal advocate said Yerrabi Pond's off-leash dog area was unfenced and poorly signposted and that the preventable attack was not the first time uncontrolled dogs had put the pond's wildlife at risk.
She said community members had reported a cygnet being stolen in one instance and continual fox predation.
She also raised concerns about visitors regularly feeding bread to the birds and contributing to deformed wings from poor diet.
In a statement, Ms McKinley said the man involved in the August 22 incident should be prosecuted and Yerrabi Pond should be provided with fenced off-leash areas, clear signs about on-leash requirements, and increased ranger patrols around nearby wildlife nesting and foraging areas.
This masthead contacted ACT Wildlife for comment, however, the charity said it was unable to comment on the matter.
