Swans that have fed on poppy sprouts in southern Slovakia have already started dying. (source: Tomáš Benedikovič, SME)
Updated on June 25, 2023: Intoxicated swans from the poppy field near Komárno, southern Slovakia, were caught by conservationists on June 6 and taken away, the public broadcaster RTVS reported.
Poppy fields near Komárno has become temporary home to a colony – or 'bevy' – of swans. They apparently discovered a taste for the plant, which has narcotic properties, and now show little sign of moving on.
The bevy of swans that is now grounded in fields between the villages of Iža and Patince, near the Danube in southern Slovakia, may have become addicted to eating poppy sprouts, writes Slovak daily Denník N. They now seem unable to move out of the fields. Poppy sprouts are toxic for the swans: tens of birds have already died and scientists fear that the almost 150 more who remain, apparently hooked on poppies, may ultimately succumb.
