The Daily Beast May - Arrival of the Cygnets - May 24, 2013

ABBOTSBURY, UNITED KINGDOM; This year the arrival of the cygnets at the only publically accessible colony of nesting mute swans in the world, has been later than usual due to the colder than average start to the year. However, the arrival of the cygnets is traditionally seen as the start of summer and local traditions claim the Benedictine Monks who owned the Dorset swannery between 1000 AD and the 1540s believed the first cygnet signaled the season's first day. Abbotsbury Swannery's mute swans - up to 1,000 in total - are all free flying, and are not kept in cages. 

Photos by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily Beast May 23, 2013

Tapir offspring Baru plays with a ball at the zoo in Leipzig, eastern Germany, on May 22, 2013 after forecasting that German soccer club BVB will win the upcoming Champions League final football match Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund in London's Wembley Stadium on May 25.  The tapir did his forecast by going for a cabbage turnip painted in the colors of the German soccer club Borussia Dortmund.  AFP PHOTO / HENDRIK SCHMIDT

The Daily Beast - May 22, 2013

Seven weeks old ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) twins sit in their enclosure in the Zoo in Erfurt, central Germany, May 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

The Daily Beast - May 21, 2013

Siberian tiger Manu yawns in his enclosure at Zoom Erlebniswelt zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, May 16, 2013.

The Daily Beast - May 20, 2013

Borneo apes play in their enclosure on May 16, 2013 at the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ

The Daily Beast - May 19, 2013

Two lions named Alex and Mianga lazy around in the garden of the house of Ales Basista and his girlfriend in the southern Czech village of Stupava,  50 km southeast of Brno, Czech Republic on May 15, 2013. The couple have had the lions living with them since they were small. AFP PHOTO/ RADEK MICARADEK

The Daily Beast - May 18, 2013

Eric the new born Rothschild giraffe stands in front the mother Lotti during its first presentation for public at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin, April 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The Daily Beast - May 17, 2013

Baby elephant "Moyo" stands next to his mother "Sabie" during his first outing at the zoo in Wuppertal, western Germany, on May 15, 2013. "Moyo" was born on May 13, 2013 at the zoo.      AFP PHOTO / MARIUS BECKER /

The Daily Beast - May 16, 2013

Two young prairie dogs play in their enclosure at the zoo in Hanover, central Germany, on May 15, 2013.       AFP PHOTO / JULIAN

The Daily Beast - May 15, 2013

Hani, a 10-year-old sloth bear, wanders her enclosure with her two cubs at the Brookfield Zoo on May 8, 2013 in Brookfield, Illinois. The cubs, which have been held in a maternity den since their birth on January 20, were making their public debut at the zoo.  Scott Olson/Getty Images