A TWO-month-old lost cygnet was safely returned to his parents and six brothers and sisters thanks to Abbotsbury Swanherd Dave Wheeler.

The lost cygnet was found wandering in the road in Dorchester by a local resident. She took the cygnet to the vet before returning it to the river, but was still concerned for its safety when she observed it cowering in the reeds, apparently too young and frightened to fend for itself.

So she called the team at Abbotsbury Swannery, who set out to help.

Dave Wheeler took the cygnet in overnight and gave it a good meal, plenty of rest and Amy his daughter gave it lots of cuddles.

The next day, staff spotted what they believed was the cygnet’s family, further down the river in Dorchester.

Dave said: “Local people knew there was a family of nine swans living on the river and so when only six cygnets were accounted for, it seemed obvious that we had the missing one.

“We knew we’d got it right when we saw the parents nodding their heads at the cygnet, which is their ‘swan-speak’ for recognising another swan.”

John Huston, general manager of Abbotsbury Tourism said: ‘We’re regularly called out to help swans in distress.

“In this case, the cygnet was vulnerable to predators such as dogs or foxes and in the extraordinary flooding conditions, it’s unlikely it would have found its family without some help.”