09:55
As extreme cold weather hit Northeast China this year, swans sometimes were found frozen on icy waters.
A swan was recently found frozen on the icy waters of Daling River, Beipiao, Liaoning Province.
Local swan guards Li Haifeng and his wife Wang Zhaohui were patrolling along the river when they heard the cries of the swan, whose belly feathers were stuck to the ice. The couple realized the swan was trapped.
"This is a half-grown swan. Temperatures have not been this cold in the past, but this year we have continued to see swans frozen out from time to time," said Wang.
Wang immediately covered the swan's head with her hat to avoid it from panicking. Li got a bucket of warm water and poured the water over the birds' frozen feathers while carefully peeling them off the ice. As soon as the swan was rescued, it flapped its wings and ran into the unfrozen portion to get back to the swans.
So far, four "frozen swans" have been rescued by these local guards. To prevent such accidents, guards on rotation come to the swan bay early every day to observe the situation and rescue the swans.
(Video source: Xinhua; story compiled by Peng Temin)
