Rescued swan recovering well

Published: March 9, 2007 | 5728th good news item since 2003

A young trumpeter swan sickened by lead poisoning and hobbled by a broken wing was caught in a fence when a resident spotted the endangered bird and called for help.

Warden Dave Horzewski of the state Department of Natural Resources got the call Jan. 30 from a woman who said a trumpeter swan was stuck in her tree-line fence.

“It seemed kind of odd at the time, but, sure enough, that’s what it was,” he said.

By the time the bird was rescued, he was weak and his wing was bloodied.

Horzewski took him to Linda Bethke of Prairie du Sac, who rehabilitates bald eagles and other birds at her home.

She administered critical care and had the swan X-rayed at the local animal hospital, then sent him to Marge Gibson at the Raptor Education Center in Antigo the next day.

“He was really sick. He definitely would’ve died if he hadn’t been captured very soon,” Gibson said.

At first, the young swan was tube fed and had a series of injections to draw the lead out of his bones, said Gibson, who is caring for three other trumpeter swans and 100 other avian patients at the center.

She said the swan’s delicate feet, accustomed to being gently massaged in the water as it swims, are now being protected by foam flooring and blankets, and the bird gets daily foot massages from the staff – something Gibson said he’s warming up to.

With physical therapy and flight training, the swan has been making a steady recovery, Gibson said. His broken right wing has healed, and his left wing, which was caught in the fence, is stretching and getting stronger each day.

“When he recovers and is able to go outside with the other swans he will adjust very quickly to his wild demeanor,” she said.

He’s referred to as “91,” because of the yellow bands marked “91U” on his leg and neck.

Gibson said the tag showed the swan was born last summer at the Crex Meadows reserve in Burnett County.

The DNR Bureau of Endangered Species estimates there are 16 breeding pairs of trumpeter swans at Crex out of a total population of 500 to 600 in the state.

The species was gone from Wisconsin for more than 100 years before a restoration program in the late 1980s used swan eggs from Alaska, said Pat Manthey, an avian ecologist with the bureau.

“It’s definitely an emerging success story. We began with zero nesting pairs in the state…and last year we were at 98,” Manthey said.

It’s not known how the bird contracted lead poisoning, although it’s a potentially fatal danger for the swans, which root underwater for food and can swallow lead sinkers or shot.

The bird likely was wintering on open ponds off the Wisconsin River in the Sauk Prairie area, and with a 6-foot wingspan he could have flown from there to Reedsburg even while injured.

“Probably the reason he flew into the fence was because his depth perception was out,” Gibson said.

Published in Animals
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