Painting a picture of compassion, a swan blocked a high-speed railways line in Germany after its partner got caught into an overhead power cable and died.
The local police and firefighters had to intervene to move the mourning swan bird after the blockade led to multiple delays and caused at least 20 trains to be cancelled, according to a statement by the rescuers.
After the accident that claimed its partner's life, the swan stayed on the railway line near Fuldatal and prevented trains from Kassel to pass on to Göttingen in the European country.
#DNA | 23 trains were delayed in Germany after a swan settled on the railway tracks mourning the loss of its companion@sudhirchaudhary pic.twitter.com/57anE9RCyi
— DNA (@dna) January 1, 2021
It is reported by the local media in Germany that firefighters had to bring special equipment to remove the dead body of a swan and rescue the other. The rescued swan was then taken to the Fulda river and released into the wild.
"The fire brigade from Fuldatal had to come to lift the swan from the tracks with special equipment," the police said in their statement.
The incident let to a delay of at least 23 trains by around 50 minutes, the local police further said.
More than anything, the incident is a marker of love and compassion that is to be found everywhere. Swans are known to mate for life and are often depicted as love birds. Even Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, is often depicted riding a swan.
In a similar picture of care and friendship, a German photographer captured a picture of two widowed penguins comforting each other in Australia earlier in 2020. The picture later won a popular award, for its depiction of the beautiful moment.
The animal world is filled with such examples and gives everyone a lesson to develop compassion and try to care for every living creature on this planet.