Locals have been warned to stay away from swans that have fallen seriously ill from suspected bird flu.
Rangers at the Grand Western Canal in Tiverton, Devon said two cygnets are suffering from shivering and spasms, as well as lethargy.
They added it is a "strong possibility" the swans have bird flu and advised members of the public not to touch them, reports Devon Live.
In a statement released yesterday, rangers said: “We currently have two cygnets on the canal which appear to be seriously ill and are showing similar symptoms - lethargy with occasional shivering and spasms.
“One is currently located between the Canal Basin and William Authers Footbridge in Tiverton; and the other is currently located between the Aqueduct and Crownhill Bridge.
"Both have been reported to the RSPCA and we are hoping that they will attend later today.
“Given the strong possibility that these birds may be suffering from bird flu, we advise members of the public not to touch them, and to report to us by phone (01884 254072) or email (gwcanal@devon.gov.uk) if they find any dead birds along the canal.”
The warning comes after an avian flu outbreak on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast, where National Trust rangers collected well over 3,000 dead birds for incineration.
They fear that many thousands more have succumbed to the deadly disease and fallen off the cliffs into the North Sea.
Some of the casualties included an eight-year-old Arctic tern which would have flown from the Farne Islands to Antarctica and back eight times during its lifetime, covering 144,000 miles.
Farnes' general manager Simon Lee said: "The welfare of our staff, volunteers and visitors is our top priority as we navigate this unprecedented wildlife tragedy on the islands.
"The National Trust has cared for the Farne Islands for just under 100 years, and there are no records of anything so potentially damaging to our already endangered seabird colonies.
"The Farne Islands is a National Nature Reserve and home to approximately 200,000 seabirds, including guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills and shags in addition to Arctic terns and puffins.
"We closed the islands to limit disturbance to the birds and are monitoring the situation daily.
"Our team of rangers are working hard to minimise the spread of the disease amongst the island's precious wildlife."
The disease spreads when birds come into direct contact with an infected bird, faeces, body fluids or indirectly via food and water.
The risk to humans is considered to be very low and people are rarely affected.
The National Trust has been calling on the Government to act.
Ben McCarthy, the Trust's head of nature conservation and restoration ecology, said: "This disease is undoing decades of hard work to restore nature and undermines the Government's own targets to reverse the decline of our threatened species and improve their habitats.
"The scale of this disaster calls for an urgent National Response Plan for the virus in wild birds.
"We need a more co-ordinated approach to ensure effective monitoring, surveillance and reporting to support research into the impacts this deadly disease is having on our wild birds across the UK."
