In Switzerland, a real swan lake

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Cue the Tchaikovsky: A baby swan, foreground, and adults troll for food along the waterfront this week in Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

These swans bring to mind ‘Petra,’ a black swan in Germany who garnered international attention in 2006 when she apparently developed a fondness for a boat shaped like an oversized white swan. She refused to leave its side.

Last winter, she left the boat behind upon meeting a live white swan, and started to build a nest with her new beau at a zoo. The boat sailed back to its solitary status. But trouble arose in Petra’s paradise. The male swan eventually abandoned her, causing Petra to incessantly swim around in an agitated state. Zoo officials reunited her with her boat in late March.

Top photo: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP/Getty Images. Bottom photo: Martin Meissner/Associated Press.