(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-19 07:48

BERLIN - A long love story is over at a German zoo: Petra the swan and her swan-shaped paddleboat are parting ways. Petra, a black swan, became a minor celebrity in 2006 when she became so attached to the boat - which is shaped like an oversized white swan that she refused to leave its side.

Black swan 'Petra' welcomes her 'partner', a swan-shaped pedal boat at a small lake at the Zoo in Muenster, western Germany, in this Friday March 9, 2007 file photo. [Agencies]

Officials in the western city of Muenster decided to let her stay with it over the winter, bringing both bird and boat into a city zoo.

However, Petra met a live swan this winter. Zoo director Joerg Adler says she and her new mate - a white swan are building a nest together.

The boat is to be returned to its local owner on Thursday.