This is another one of those "good news, bad news" situations, but one that, hopefully, will have a happy ending.

First, the bad news. Two swans that graced the pond at Lakeview Cemetery are dead.

The good news is, that contrary to initial reports and speculation, they were not shot by humans, but were likely killed by a pair of wolves.

Lakeview Cemetery manager Dave Hardie said workers found one of the swans floating in the pond Tuesday morning and another one was missing. The initial police report said the swan had a puncture wound consistent with a bullet.

"At first we thought a shotgun blast had killed the large male we found in the pond," he said.

After calling the police and filing a report, Hardie ventured further up the small creek that feeds the pond and he found the other swan. "She was severely mutilated and we found lots of coyote or wolf tracks at the scene."

Hardie said the re-examined the swan they had found floating in the pond and found that it had been ripped open under its wing.

"I think he was attacked in the same location as the female but was able to escape back to the deeper water of the pond where the wolves couldn't get at him," said Hardie. "Unfortunately the wound was fatal."

The tracks at the scene were quite large, making Hardie think it was a wolf or wolves, not coyotes or loose dogs. He also said he spoke to a resident on Centre Street who said he had seen two wolves trotting right down the middle of the road at dusk the night before.

"I'm not an expert in the field, but just judging by the size and number of tracks we found, I'd guess it was a couple of wolves," he said.

Hardie said it was a very sad day for him because he had acquired the swans for the cemetery pond three years ago when they were just goslings and had enjoyed the joy they gave to many visitors to the cemetery.

"I didn't realize how much they meant to people until the news came out that they had been killed," he said. "People were really upset that someone might have shot them. One lady who came up to see us was crying she was so upset."

So I guess that's the good news... that it was just Mother Nature taking its course and not some demented person with a gun and a hate-on for swans.

But that leaves one lonely swan at the pond and this is where there can be a happy ending - we hope.

Hardie says he would like to get a mate for the remaining swan, but they are expensive. "I'm not sure how much they cost, but sometimes Stratford sells pairs at the end of the season for $500," he said, adding he would be looking into it when he gets back from holidays.

"The three we had all came from the same nest - we got them from Fred Raper down in the Beaver Valley (a descendent of early Meaford resident Fred Raper who has a park named after him)," added Hardie, noting that he has already had people offer donations to help buy a new pair.

So nature can be cruel. There are predators and prey and the results can be violent and messy. But humans can be generous and we hope that some good community-minded citizens will step up and help buy a new pair of these beautiful birds to grace the Lakeview pond once more.