Mr Swan's uphill battle to save swans

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Like Yuan, he loves swans and takes excellent nature and bird films, getting very close to his subjects without disturbing them. The two met when Sun brought an injured swan to Yuan to be nursed back to health.

Everyone in the area knows that Yuan is the "swan doctor" and they take sick and injured birds to Yuan's home where he runs a small TV, radio and appliance repair business. From October to March during swan season, Yuan is usually out looking for swans to rescue, leaving the shop to his wife.

Sun also knew of Yuan's reputation, so he called Yuan when he found a wounded swan while taking footage of them in 2004.

"That's when we met and I just got into the habit of visiting the swan at Yuan's home and taking some film," says Sun.

That's how it started.

Swans are Yuan's passion. He earns just enough in his business to support his family. He is always in debt and he even had to borrow money to pay for his two daughters' college tuition. Over 30 years of swan-saving, he didn't manage to save any money for himself - everything went to the swans.

He reckons he has rescued more than 500 wounded swans, nursed them and released most of them back into nature.

"The common rule for wild animals too weak to survive on their own is euthanasia," says Yuan, "but I just can't do that."

Hence, he keeps them at his home and the cost for food alone is 14,000 yuan (US$1,800) yearly for 14 swans. Swans can grow as long as two meters with a wing span of three meters; most are smaller, but they are big birds and eat a lot.

"While shooting the film, I never thought about huge responsibilities like raising people's awareness of swan protection," says Sun. "In fact, I only hope that people would have a little more understanding for Yuan."

When the two swan lovers met in January 2004, Yuan was already a quasi-celebrity often referred to as "the swan guard Yuan." Many people call him, to this day "Crazy Yuan."

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