A ‘stupid’ bloke got his comeuppance for jumping into a lake right next to a swan’s babies – when the birds’ giant mum attacked him.
Antonio Cruz, 49, went to the River Stour in Blandford Forum, Dorset, to catch some rays during the heatwave on Wednesday, May 27, when he noticed a group of ‘intoxicated’ lads wanting to jump into the river.
He claims that he warned the group of pal not to jump in because there was a swan with a baby nearby, however one of the blokes ‘came back running and jumping in’ right next to the bird.
So when the bird became ‘territorial’ and started attacking’ the stranger, Antonio admits he was left ‘laughing his head off’.
Taking to TikTok he shared video footage captioned ‘when you tell him no yet he doesn’t want to listen – he got a sore head for the troubles’, which has since gone viral with more than 127,600 views.
The clips shows the ‘startled’ swan using its large wings to repeatedly hit the bloke – before chasing him as he tries to stay afloat and escape in a panic.
Former head chef Antonio claims the stranger was so hurt by the attack he ‘could barely lift one arm’ and had to be helped out of the water by a lady who was nearby. He hopes that the incident will serve as a ‘good warning to other people of what not to do’.
Many social media users took to the comments branding the bloke an ‘idiot’ and ‘disrespectful’ for disturbing the swan near its cygnets. Antonio, who lives in Blandford Forum, Dorset, said: “It’s downright stupid. Why would you do it, I don’t get it.
“We all came out of the river when we noticed the swan and one of its babies coming up towards us. Across the way, there was a group of lads who were drinking and intoxicated that were wanting to jump in.
“I said ‘look fellas please don’t jump in now the swan’s got out, please don’t do that’. They debated for I don’t know how many minutes and went about their business and had a few more Stellas and came back running and jumped in.
“One guy jumped in and I said to him ‘before you jump in mate, you do know that swan’s going to attack you? We’re all just going to laugh because that swan is a very strong thing and you’re going to end up drowning or getting hurt’.
“He actually ran like Usain Bolt style and landed where the swan was. I was standing quite close and standing nearest to it. The swan had his back turned and then turned around and did his thing.
“For me it was funny at the fact that the swan literally took him out and drowned him at the same time. There was a group of families just there and we were all just laughing our heads off. I’m confused as to why the swan attacked him.
“I think the swan was startled. [The swan was] a bit territorial. I think a lady helped him out because he was hurt. When he swam back to the bank, he could barely lift one arm to the ledge so a lady had to pull him physically out.”
Now Antonio, who says he checked on the swan and its baby later on, hopes the video will serve as a warning to others. He added: “It’s a good warning to other people of what not to do.
“He didn’t actually harm the swan. The bird’s fine and the babies are fine and that’s the main goal for me.”