Unusual eviction at Santa Cruz mobile home park

UPDATE 3/14/2017 5:35 p.m.:

Some neighbors in one Santa Cruz community are crying “fowl” over a resident swan. “Felix the Swan” has been one of the most popular residents at De Anza Santa Cruz for about ten years, but that may soon change.

“I have grown to really enjoy Felix and I have grown accustomed to seeing him every day,” said Vicki Weissenborn, a De Anza resident.

Despite that, he’s been getting aggressive with residents lately, even attacking one of them. Betty Pfister was left bruised after a recent encounter with the feisty fowl.

“I didn’t see him,” Pfister said. “He came out from behind a bush and he attacked me. I just thought if I ignore him and just go on, he won’t bother me. Well he just came at me, and that wing, just really got my arm and my side and my back.”

But there’s also some who want to protect Felix and believe his bad behavior is because the pond he used to live in is now uninhabitable and his brother died last year.

Last week, management notified residents that Felix would be relocated.

The onsite manager couldn’t speak with KION on camera, but directed us to the property owners, Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. in Chicago. It believes it would be best to re-home Felix to a different location, though it didn’t have a timeline for the move.

“Our beloved swan, Felix, has been a mainstay at De Anza Santa Cruz for many years. Recently, however, Felix has exhibited increasingly aggressive behavior. After consulting with officials at Tri-County Wildlife Care, it was recommended that the swan be relocated and we were referred to a private waterfowl rescue in Jackson, California. Felix’s well-being is very important to us, and we are currently evaluating options for relocating him to an area where he can thrive.”

But some residents are holding out hope that Felix can stay. They believe he not only adds esthetic value, but he protects other wildlife from predators like bobcats and coyotes.

“We wish that management could work with us, put a fence up, put some signage up so people can love him and watch him and respect him as a wild animal,” Weissenborn said.

ORIGINAL POST:

Felix the swan has been living at De Anza Santa Cruz, a mobile home park, for the last decade but is now facing an eviction.

According to residents, Felix has been aggressive and attacked someone.

The property owners issued a statement on Tuesday:

“Our beloved swan, Felix, has been a mainstay at De Anza Santa Cruz for many years. Recently, however, Felix has exhibited increasingly aggressive behavior. After consulting with officials at Tri-County Wildlife Care, it was recommended that the swan be relocated and we were referred to a private waterfowl rescue in Jackson, California. Felix’s well-being is very important to us, and we are currently evaluating options for relocating him to an area where he can thrive.”

KION’s Mariana Hicks will have more on this story tonight.