Early on Friday morning, drivers on Laagna tee in Tallinn's Lasnamäe district encountered a confused pair of swans and their three cygnets wandering along the highway.

The Emergency Response Centre received notification a little after 7 a.m., and video shared on social media shows the swans appearing somewhat confused as they wander around the roadway while traffic comes to a standstill.

Marko Rännel, shift supervisor at the Lasnamäe rescue station, said firefighters did attend the scene, but as the swans were then beside the road and posed no danger to anyone, there was no need to try to catch them, adding: "The mother and father, together with their young, can be very aggressive. Besides, the mother swan is perfectly capable of looking after her cygnets and knows where to go."

Ultimately, that decision was reversed due to the risk of collision, and, according to Rescue Board day shift supervisor Heiki Kurissoo, the assumption that the swans could be a handful proved to be the correct one.

"The larger male swan became very aggressive. Neither of them wanted to cooperate with us, but several of us managed to pin them down," Kurissoo said.

Using special long-handled grab bags, the rescuers first hooded the adult swans, who immediately calmed down, while the cygnets were picked up by hand and put in crates, all while Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) personnel redirected traffic.

After being placed in a police vehicle, the wandering waterfowl family were taken to the more appropriate setting of the seashore, close to the Linnahall and a location where swans often congregate, where they were released.

While firefighters have often been called to help swans in distress, Kurissoo said, this was the first time in his experience that an entire swan family had had to be rescued.

If you encounter wildlife on the road or in other locations where they could come to harm, or cause harm, you should call the state helpline on 1247.

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