Ivan Mykolaichuk’s swans are doomed to die

After Ivan Mykolaichuk’s death a miracle took place in his native village of Chortoryia, Chernivtsi region. Each year, 100 to 150 mute swans come to winter here. Villagers say that it is Ivan’s soul that returns home with the swans.

THE “SWAN LAKE” IS FED BY WARM SPRINGS

Biologists’ explanation of the phenomenon is far simpler. The cascade of ponds was constructed in Chortoryia simultaneously with the dam on the mountain river Cheremosh in order to prevent the flooding of the village. The ponds are fed by the river and underwater springs. As the springs are warm, the pond does not freeze even during severe frost spats. Naturally, the swans chose this pond for wintering. Accordingly, the “Swan Lake” became an ornithological reserve of local importance. In winter, it becomes a place of pilgrimage for not only Bukovinians, but residents of neighboring regions, too. People come here specifically to see for themselves the unusual sight of hundreds of graceful birds swimming in the ice-free lake.

LAST WINTER THE BIRDS WERE RESCUED BY THE MINISTRY OF EMERGENCIES’ UNITS

However, in recent years the swans were out of luck. In 2008, a flood partially silted the ice-free springs. They were promptly cleared, but in 2009 the drought triggered a new disaster. The water level in the pool dropped to a critical point, and when the frosts hit in December, the lake had frozen almost to the bottom. Only a small hole in the middle of the lake remained ice-free, where the swans had to press themselves wing-to-wing. To prevent the death of the birds, units of the Ministry of Emergencies were called in and equipped accordingly. They worked around the clock on the pool, pumping hot air under the ice to prevent the lake from freezing completely.

But in 2010, the real disaster came. The 40-year-old dam did not survive the onslaught of the fierce Cheremosh and was destroyed; the wroth river flowed through the ponds. Somehow the dam was repaired, to some extent, but the ponds remain sullied and waterless. “It’d be impractical to start the ponds’ clearing before the new dam is built,” says Yan Dziuba, head of the Prut and Dniester River Basin Water Resources Management Authority. Any new rainfall in the mountains (rains are rare in autumn, but far from unheard of) would destroy a temporary dike, and all work on the ponds’ restoration would be in vain. Moreover, 4 to 5 million hryvnias, necessary for the construction of the dam, are not available to the Authority. Meanwhile, the swans start coming to Chortoryia after the first frosts, sometimes even in late September, says Ivan Doskaliuk, local pond caretaker.

NO ALTERNATIVE TO CHORTORYIA

“They are led to Chortoryia by instincts already, as for 20 years several generations of mute swans wintered there,” explained deputy head of the Chernivtsi Regional Environmental Protection Department Volodymyr Solodky. “Worse still, there are no alternatives to the warm pond of Chortoryia within 100 kilometers. Without quick actions, the swans are doomed to die.”

In order to save them, environmentalists together with the Basin Authority have initiated a mission to clarify the situation on the ground. At the same time, a regional environmental fund has allocated money to clear the pond. They and the Basin Authority have reached a compromise solution: river-brought gravel covering the ponds’ bottom almost a meter thick (and preventing warm springs from reaching the ponds’ water) will be cleared and used to strengthen the dam. The financial situation is worse, because nobody knows when money will reach the contractor, while clearing ponds is lengthy work, which needs to be started as soon as possible. “We are asking the contractor to be generous for the birds’ sake and start now,” says Mr. Solodky. However, currently there is no affirmative answer.