A Reader wrote in an email to the editorial office:
I have a question about the swans and ducks. There is a sign by the pond saying: “do not feed the birds,” but does anyone feed these animals? For some time now, I have not seen any food in their feeders. I pass by there almost every day and there is no food in sight. And the birds are hungry, because they swim after people who bring them something. Please check this situation.
Grażyna Strzyżewska, deputy head of Miejski Zakład Gospodarki Mieszkaniowej:
Under the agreement concluded with the company that maintains cleanliness in green areas in our city, the company is obliged to feed the swans living on the pond. They are given feed similar to bird feed (there is no feed on sale specifically intended for swans).
The food is put out only in an amount that the birds will eat immediately, on average three times a week. If we put out too much, the feed will become moldy or freeze. If eaten by the birds, it may harm them.
Normally, swans prepare to survive the winter by accumulating large fat reserves at the end of summer and in autumn. The birds use these reserves in winter, during adverse conditions. It should be remembered that adult, healthy birds can survive without food for even several days, remaining motionless and conserving the energy stored as a thick layer of fat beneath their skin. In the event of a severe, freezing winter, when the pond freezes over, the swans will be moved to Klekusiowo.
The deputy director of MZGM adds:
Finally, I would add that birds (ducks, swans, gulls, etc.) always walk and swim after people who throw them food; that is their nature. We continue to ask people to follow the sign saying “do not feed the birds.”