Meaford council will need to decide soon if it plans to replace the two swans that disappeared from the pond at Lakeview Cemetery in November.
Groundskeeper Mark Pendleton received a call November 10 from a resident who reported the birds were wandering on the road leading to entrance to cemetery. Pendleton drove to the cemetery, but could not find the swans.
Other town staff joined a lengthy search, but the swans disappeared.
Since then, Meaford councillors have fielded questions from a number of residents who want to know if the swans will be replaced with a new pair this spring.
Community Services Director Dan Buttineau has been asked to prepare a report on the swans. That report will be presented at the next Meaford council meeting.
Buttineau says the whole matter of the swans' disappearance was puzzling and strange.
"As far as I can remember, the swans had seldom left the pond and even then hadn't ventured far from it," says Buttineau. "If a coyote or other predator had attacked them, we would have found feathers and even blood on the ground. But we never found a single clue as to their fate."