A grieving swan was stopping cars in Wexford last week to lie on top of them after its mate passed away.

The lonely swan was spotted holding up traffic in Enniscorthy to perform a grieving ritual to deal with its sadness. The bird was walking in front of cars on the busy road and resting its neck across the bonnets rendering the vehicles unable to pass. A picture of the swan was shared on social media by the Wexford Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (WSPCA). They asked whether anybody was available to help the sad swan. "Its mate has been killed but now he's stopping cars and just lying on them and he looks so sad and lonely," they wrote. It wasn't long before the image of the lonely swan was shared widely across social media, eventually leading to an animal rehabilitator contacting the group. They shared an update following the incident stating: "Hopefully the swan can be integrated into another flock and find a new mate and live a long and happy life." Swans tend to mate for life unless a 'divorce' occurs following a nesting failure or a death. It is not uncommon for swans to take a new mate after this.