Trumpeter Swans
North America's largest waterfowl, the trumpeter swan, was once a prominent resident of Wisconsin's lakes and marshes.
In 1805, when explorers Lewis and Clark first encountered these large snowy-white birds, they were found throughout most of the northern United States and Canada. By the mid-1930s only 69 trumpeter swans were known to remain in the continental United States.
Market hunting for skins, down, quills, meat, and the fashionable millinery trade of the 1800s brought the trumpeter swan to near extinction.
By the late 1800s, Wisconsin's last known breeding Trumpeters had vanished.
A growing interest in preserving the trumpeter swan has led to full-scale efforts to restore this species to its former range in the Midwest.
In 1987, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with a variety of organizations and individuals, began implementing a trumpeter swan recovery plan for the state.
Following an ambitious program of collecting eggs in Alaska for eight years and raising cygnets in captivity and in the wild, approximately 300 free-flying trumpeter swans now grace Wisconsin wetlands.
"In the glowing firmament rode the long baseless triangles of the Swans,
sweeping across the upper air in exalted and unswerving flight, spanning
a continent with the speed of the wind, their forms glistening like
silver in the sunset glow.They presented the most impressive spectacle
of bird life ever seen in North America."
- Edward Howe Forbush, 1917
Here are some successes this program has experienced since its inception in 1987:
- 385 eggs collected in Alaska from 1989-1997; 356 (92%) hatched
- 388 Trumpeters released to the wild from 1989-2001
- 53 pairs fledged 103 young in 2000
- received the 1997 Regional Conservation Award from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association
- developed a strong team of partners: Milwaukee County Zoo, Zoological Society of Milwaukee County, Windway Capital Corporation, Society for Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus, UW-Madison Dept. of Wildlife Ecology, Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, General Electric Medical Systems, Amoco Corporation, Raptor Education Group, Inc., U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and many financial supporters.
How You Can Help in the Restoration of Trumpeter Swan Populations
- Don't shoot or harass Trumpeter Swans and report violations you observe immediately.
- Report observations of marked swans (collar, bands, tags, radios, etc.) to your state wildlife agency.
- Support the Endangered Species or Non-Game tax form checkoff donation program available in your state. Swan restoration is expensive!
- Donate to the Trumpeter Swan Fund.
- Share this information with friends.
- Be aware of the potential problems caused by introduced Mute Swans.
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