Trumpeter Swan "At A Glance"

Scientic Name:	Cygnus Buccinator
Mating:	Mate for life. If one dies, the other will find new mate
Peak Breeding Activity:	April
Incubation:	33-37 days
Young Hatch:	June
Clutch Size:	5-9
Young Leave Parents:	At one year
Number Of Broods Per Year:	1
Adult Weight:	20-30 pounds
Adult Wingspan:	7-8 feet
Adult Height:	4 feet
Life Expectancy:	20-30 years
Migration Pattern:	Year-round resident
Typical Foods:	Tubers and leaves of aquatic vegetation
Native to Ohio:	Yes
Active Or Potential Nuisance Species:	No

The trumpeter swan is a state endangered species. It is not listed as federally endangered or threatened, but is protected from hunting.

CLEVELAND METROPARKS ZOO'S INVOLVEMENT

The Trumpeter Swan Reintroduction Program is a joint conservation effort among the Ohio Division of Wildlife, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the Wilds, and Ducks Unlimited. This reintroduction project is also supported by Ohio's Wildlife Diversity Income Tax Check-off Fund.

Narrowly escaping extinction in the early 1900's, the Trumpeter Swans were so heavily hunted without regulation that their population plummeted to only 69 in 1932. Along with the demise of the Trumpeter Swan went the species' ability to migrate. With no adults to teach this learned behavior, it could no longer be passed from parent to cygnet (infant trumpeter).

The Trumpeter Swan has subsquently been missing from Ohio's wetlands for hundreds of years. The Ohio Division of Wildlife, along with many other surrounding state wildlife divisions, made the decision to get involved in the re-introduction of these majestic birds into their natural habitat. Ohio's Trumpeter Swan Reintroduction Plan calls for the release of about 150 Trumpeter Swans in selected Ohio wetlands over the next several years. The goal is to establish a wild breeding population of at least 15 pairs of trumpeter swans in Ohio by 2006.

Initially, Ohio acquired 1 and 2 year old Trumpeter Swans from zoos and aviculturists. These birds were raised at the Wilds in Muskingham County, and the 2 year olds were released at selected wetlands sites in the spring. More recently, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo played an integral role in acquiring swans, hatching swan eggs collected from Alaskan nests, and transferring young swans to the Wilds to be raised. Each spring, groups of 10-15 young adult swans are released into selected wetlands.

Release areas must be quality wetlands to support a Trumpeter Swan's diet of large amounts of aquatic plants. A number of Ohio's wetlands were evaluated and will provide prime release sites because of wetland restoration projects undertaken by the Division, Ducks Unlimited and other conservation partners through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

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