A SWAN had a lucky escape after half its bill was torn off in a suspected dog attack at a Glasgow pond.

Now the male swan has been permanently moved from his home at the city's Victoria Park pond because wildlife teams said they needed to keep an eye on him.

The bird was originally taken in by workers at Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Centre, in Beith, Ayrshire - around two weeks ago - after they received concerned calls from the public.

The family of swans -which include newly-hatched cygnets - at the West End park are admired by dog walkers and other parks users.

Park-goers recently noticed that the male swan seemed to be in pain - and was missing a part of its bill on the right-hand side.

David O'Reilly, wildlife rehabilitator, said: "We got a few calls to say the swan had been attacked, possibly by a dog.

"We took the injured swan to our rescue centre and managed to treat it by cleaning up the wound and giving it antibiotics.

"It could have been several things that caused the wound - maybe a dog, maybe another animal. It might have been territorial wars."

Despite the temperament of the creature -swans are notoriously defensive - Mr O'Reilly said the centre had no difficulty in taking it to the rescue centre.

He said: "It wasn't a problem, we are used to handling swans."

The team made sure the swan could eat again with its damaged bill, and then released it back to Victoria Pond.

Days later, concerned members of the public noticed the swan was being bullied by the other swans and called the Scottish SPCA.

He is now living at Gartmorn Dam, near Alloa, Clackmananshire, close to the SSPCA's national wildlife rescue centre.

Colin Seddon, manager of the centre, said: "After the bird was released back to the pond it was chased off by the other swans so we have since moved it to another site with a group of non-breeding swans where it appears to be doing well.

"Thankfully, despite how bad the injury looks, the swan is able to feed normally.

"We would urge owners to keep their dogs under control and ensure they are on a lead if there are wild animals nearby."

rachel.loxton@ eveningtimes.co.uk