Love At First Flight For Swan And Boat

Wild Black Swan Won't Separate From Paddle Boat In German Lake

(CBS)  For Petra, a wild black swan, it was love at first flight when she flew into a German swan lake last year and spotted the mate of her dreams through the woods, CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports.

Petra had a weakness, it seems, for the big, strong, silent type. And to a swan. what could be bigger, stronger or more silent than the plastic paddle boat she had fallen for.

They spent a happy summer together, and when winter came and the other swans flew south, Petra refused to leave.

Local zookeepers actually tried to drive the couple apart, introducing Petra to single male swans. But she wasn't interested, and the keepers gave up. They didn't want to stress her, they say.

So when the time came to take the boat out of the boathouse and put it back in the lake, the press swarmed in. Petra was there waiting. The question: Had she gotten over her love boat? Had she realized the relationship was going nowhere — that she and the boat were just too different? Or had love survived the long cold winter?

The boat was put back into its natural habitat, and towed to a quiet corner of Swan Lake, their corner.

They couldn't hold her back.

Frankly, the reunion of Brad and Jennifer might have caused less fuss. But this is a celebrity romance that looks like it will last.

[boston1954]

I like tall guys too. :-)

[sclaires]

I had to laugh when I saw the story and then read it about Petra and her swan boat. It isn't often that a wild animal such as Petra will fall in love with such an inanimate object and then allow humans to hold her until she can get to her love. I say, GO FOR IT PETRA!!!

[toldyouso21]

They'll never have any babies. LOL

[roblin2005]

Throw in some rubber duckies and call it a flock. :)