The Maryland Zoo trumpeted the arrival of two baby trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) who hatched after more than 30 days of incubation in their nest in the Farmyard at the Zoo.
The hatchlings are called “cygnets,” and will be raised by their parents, who will help them develop the skills they need to survive in the wild.
“This is the eighth clutch laid by our trumpeter swans. Over the past decade our swan parents, Scuttle and Buttercup, have played a very important role in the conservation of their species,” said Jen Kottyan, Curator of Birds at Maryland Zoo.
“Last year the cygnets went to Oregon where they were released into the wild as part of a trumpeter swan restoration program by the state’s Department of Natural Resources,” Kottyan said. “This year one will be released in Oregon and the other will join a breeding population as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Trumpeter Swan Species Survival Plan.”
Trumpeter swans can grow to weigh up to 30 pounds, making them the largest waterfowl species native to North America, and the largest swan in the world. Their distinctive markings set them apart with bright white feathers, black beaks, large, webbed feet, and huge six-foot wingspans.
They were nearly hunted to extinction in the early 1900s, but the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 gave the trumpeter swans (and other birds) protection from illegal killing. Additionally, the act made it illegal to even so much as disturb a nest of any native bird without a permit. The bird’s population still declined into the 1930s, however, and in 1932 there were thought to be fewer than 70 trumpeter swans remaining.
The birds were hunted for meat, but also for feathers which were used as fashion accessories in women’s hats, and swan skins were used to make powder puffs.
In 1935, the U.S. government established the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Montana to protect the remaining birds. The species has largely recovered thanks to aggressive conservation efforts.
Visitors can see the swans in the lake of the Zoo’s Farmyard or, in a new feature this year, can watch them on a live nest cam.
