TO CATCH A SWAN. As promised, here is the tale of The Swan in The Box.

On December 14, I was strolling by the Central Park Pond when I saw a woman wearing waders in the water. After I summoned the courage to ask this park employee what she was doing, she told me she was trying to attract the injured swan that was floating about 60 feet away.

In the film version of this story, the park woman will be played by Laura Innes of ER. As Laura stood in the water, keeping up a silly patter while pretending to show a lack of interest in the bird, the swan headed toward her.

I learned that the swan had a faulty foot, and that the park people were trying to catch it to take it to The Animal Medical Center on the Upper East Side by the Queensboro Bridge. The swan had already been to the hospital, where it had been dubbed Flip Flop in recognition of the sound it made while waddling down the hallways.

On this December day, the goal was to recapture Flip Flop and see if anything more could be done for its bad foot. For a while, a stalemate prevailed as Laura tossed the swan some food and awaited the arrival of the Swan Catcher, famed for his skill at nabbing waterfowl.

























When the Swan Catcher came on the scene, it was determined that, due to scheduling considerations not known to Flip Flop, the capture would have to made that very day. The Swan Catcher waded into the water and stood nearly motionless by the rocks as the swan neared him.

























Suddenly the Swan Catcher seized the swan's neck with his left hand and calls rang out for the cardboard box! Flip Flop put up a struggle but soon succumbed to the Swan Catcher's strategy!









































































I sure hope Flip Flop was successfully treated at The Animal Medical Center!


Photos: David Marc Fischer