January 25th, 2012
Swans Are Such Jerks
This strip was inspired by Mr.Asbo, who is a poster boy for jerk swans. I have never personally been attacked by a swan, but I’ve been chased by them and they can be pretty scary. I was also chased by a flock of turkey vultures once, but that’s a story for another day…
CONTEST NEWS: If you entered the Colouring Contest from a few weeks back (or even if you didn’t) you can now check out all of the entries on the Abominable Facebook page. We’ll be picking a winner* this week and that person will get a free book with a character sketch of their choice. Tune in next week for the results!
*by ‘We’ I mean ‘my 10-month old son’.
January 25th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
What kind of bird are those little guys up in the tree? So cute :3
January 25th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
OMG i missed the contest! is it closed?
January 25th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
they are, really. we’ve raised geese and they are INSANE. they will kill _anything_ that is “not goose.”
January 25th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
It’s well known that swans are the supermodel divas of the animal kingdom.
January 25th, 2012 at 4:56 pm
My brother got bit on his bum by a swan. I nearly peed myself laughing. Wasn’t so funny when he beat the crap out of me later, though.
Speaking of birds with character, ever see the PBS Nature special about the guy who lived with a flock of wild turkeys? Amazing.
January 25th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Turkey Vultures? See, SEE! I told everyone that fresh cadaver scented cologne was a bad idea, but did anyone listen to me? No, of course not.
January 25th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Reminds me of P.G. Wodehouse using swans to trap folks on picturesque, but being-rained-upon, islands in the middle of lakes on country estates. Those swans were jerks, too!
January 25th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
I haven’t had much experience with swans, but the Canadian Geese used to terrorize my college campus in North Florida. Those suckers were mean and really territorial.
January 25th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
I remember having bad experiences with geese and swans and thinking ‘this is how we can be sure that birds came from dinosaurs. because they are vicious jerks’
January 25th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
I have in fact been attacked by a swan, and damn, if it wasn’t more aggressive than my dog towards the mailman.
January 25th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
… though that may not be saying much for my dog…
January 25th, 2012 at 11:16 pm
One of favorite scenes from a movie is one from the 1920s, in which there’s a tragic scene at the climax with swans on the lake for ambiance; then you can see the swans try to reach out and bite the actors. It mystifies me sometimes how they are seen as these romantic birds, when they’re so territorial and mean.
January 26th, 2012 at 2:09 am
Years ago when i lived in Leesburg Florida there was a park with a small pond and a large population of geese near the city library that had a sign warning of “Geese Attacks”! LOL Thank you Karl for Charles Christopher. It has been a source of inspiration, laughter and intrigue that i cherish very much. You are an amazing artist and wonderful story teller.
January 26th, 2012 at 4:33 am
As a resident of Cambridge, I feel pretty bad for ‘Mr. Asbo’. He has a nest right on the edge of the river – there’s a mention in the article about how he’s lost cygnets. That’s why he attacks people, he thinks they’re all after his babies. People deliberately provoking him for the news footage probably didn’t help.
Although I have been attacked by other swans, so I feel sorry for the rowers as well!
January 26th, 2012 at 10:03 am
When we were little, I got my younger brother to try to pet a goose in the middle of a flock of them. Pretty much same result. My grandpa didn’t think it was funny.
Great work, Karl, as always!
January 26th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
@Abelle – I don’t know what kind of birds those are, exactly. I just made up some cute, chubby birds. It’s one of the few times I’ve drawn an animal in this comic without researching an actual species. Let’s call them ‘Eaves Finches’.
@Sarah – You’re right. I actually felt bad about calling out Mr. Asbo, but the opportunity for humour (just writing the name Mr. Asbo) was too hard to resist.
January 26th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
My first thought was: “Zidane headbutt!”
Sorry… my soccer fan side just couldn’t shut up.
January 26th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Wait, MISTER Asbo’s been a jerk because of his nest and cygnets? Am I missing a player in this piece?
January 27th, 2012 at 2:30 am
I can remember a short story where the antagonist was killed by a swan because he didn’t believe the protagonist. The latter was telling the truth that the swan was at the lake and particularly aggressive to those close to the nest. Ah, high school memories.
January 27th, 2012 at 11:05 am
@Kar, some swans build the nest together, raise the children together and are partners for life. Not sure which species do that specifically but the ones I used to see all the time in Sweden were like that (many nice little family portrait moments were taken pictures of). Both parents were always with their chicks. I’m guessing Mr.Asbo is one of those. I feel sorry that he’s lost some of his chicks to people’s mistakes. :C
My brother was once attacked (and bitten on the butt) by a Swan, but he really didn’t do anything to it. He was feeding the ducks. The swan got jealous or something and attacked him.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
I had a friend in school who had his arm broken by a swan. People look at swans and think, “aww, how pretty” and mentally assign all sorts of serene traits to the birds, but in reality, they are still wild animals and those wings are tremendously powerful (and they bite HARD). Just because an animal is pretty doesn’t mean it can’t be very dangerous, especially when protecting it’s young. Oh, and we had turkeys. They are far worse. I hate those damn birds.
January 28th, 2012 at 4:28 am
*BOK* Been reading old Angel Gang comics from 2000AD?
January 28th, 2012 at 10:05 am
Swans and Canada geese pair-bond and raise their young together (unlike, say, mallards). The males are usually more aggressive in defense.
January 30th, 2012 at 11:26 am
Swans vs Honey Badger… tough call, I wouldn’t bet either way.
February 7th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
I want to hear this turkey vulture story. I love turkey vultures and can’t imagine them ganging up on anyone. D|
Though I once defended a one legged goose I nicknamed “Gimpy” from a swan. The thing swam all the way across the lake just to pick on the goose.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:47 am
Oh I love polite beavers! In fact, that one reminds me just so much of this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sekLEG8xsOs