It’s been a soap opera of epic proportions over the last few months on the Palace of Fine Arts lagoon. But it’s a storyline written by Mother Nature rather than Mother Goose.

After the tragic loss last November of Monday, one of two swans then residing at the Palace, her sister Blanche was removed for safe-keeping until more could be learned about the senseless killing. The Palace was in the final stages of restoration work, and it made sense to remove the lone (and lonely) swan until after the construction mess was cleaned up.

In January 2011, just before the public reopening of the Palace of Fine Arts, Blanche returned to the pond as the final touch to the restoration, but not alone. With her were Blue Boy and Bella, a young brother and sister pair donated to Recreation and Park for the lagoon by the swans’ longtime caretakers. Residents and visitors alike were charmed to see the return of multiple swans to the water.

All was well until spring approached and nature took its course. Blanche and Blue Boy took a definite liking to each other and paired off on the pond. Mute swans mate for life and typically start building a nest in March or April. Actively nesting, the new couple kept Bella at bay, chasing her off to the sidelines when she tried to swim or sleep with the pair.

On April 28, swan caretaker Gayle Hagerty noticed that Bella had an injured foot. Knowing how quickly such injuries can become serious health issues, she transported Bella to Animal Care and Control for a medical exam. Bella was then taken to the San Francisco Zoo for veterinary treatment and was diagnosed with a fracture of her left webbed foot with a possible infection. After initial treatment, she was transported to her birthplace in Point Reyes to recuperate.

Meanwhile, Blanche and Blue Boy had built an impressive nest along the pathway on the southeast side of the Palace colonnade, where Blanche laid six eggs. On Memorial Day, while Bella was still in Point Reyes, one of the eggs hatched. The new cygnet was named Marta (though its sex was unknown). None of the other eggs hatched, and they were eventually removed so that Blanche and Blue Boy would not continue to protect the nest.

So Blanche and Blue Boy and cygnet made three. News of the happy family spread quickly through the neighborhood. When the days-old cygnet hit the water with her proud parents by her side, it was nature at its finest.

After six weeks of recuperation, Bella was returned to the Palace on Sunday, June 12. As Hagerty and fellow swan caretaker Judy Whit helped with Bella’s release, it was hoped that the happy new family on the pond would be receptive to Bella’s return, as they had enough to keep them occupied. However, Blue Boy was particularly aggressive toward his sister in his desire to protect his new family unit. So just two days later, Bella was once again removed from the pond for her own safety.

Serenity returned for the swans, but it was sadly broken on the evening of June 16 when Marta disappeared. All indications lead to the conclusion that she was taken by a predator. Once again, it was Mother Nature writing the story and not Mother Goose – Marta was a wild animal that was subject to the laws of the wild. In this case, with heartbreaking results for Blanche and Blue Boy.

In the neighborhood, the loss was felt almost as personally. Within a day, the cygnet’s disappearance was the topic of heartfelt sympathy from neighbors around the Palace of Fine Arts and beyond.

“The good thing is that everyone cares – it’s not just a couple of swan caretakers,” said Hagerty. “It’s the whole neighborhood that has become involved.”

It’s hoped that Blanche and Blue Boy will nest again next spring, and that there will be more than one hatchling next year. Until then, there are no plans for introducing another swan to the Palace of Fine Arts.

As for Bella, she has been placed in Petaluma where she has been accepted as the tenth member of an existing flock of mute swans. So at least there is one happy ending to this story.

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