Love At First Flight For Swan And Paddle Boat

It was love at first flight for Petra, a wild black swan, when she flew into a German swan lake last year and spotted the mate of her dreams -- a swan-shaped plastic paddle boat.

When winter came and the other swans flew south, Petra refused to leave because the paddleboat didn't -- a move that could have killed her as the cold weather arrived..

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. The boat was later put in its boathouse for the winter.

The time has came to take the boat out of its boathouse this year and put it back in the lake, and Petra is back. According to biologists in Germany, Petra has been circling its plastic lover, staring endlessly at it and making crooning noises -- all the typical signs of a swan in love.

Experts believe Petra's picked the plastic boat for her lifelong partner and the two have become a local tourist attraction.

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