STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (DNR): A pair of endangered trumpeter swans have successfully hatched an offspring in Indiana for the first time since modern bird-watching records have been kept.
The swan family is in northeastern Indiana’s Steuben County.
Before 2017, sightings of trumpeter swan families in Indiana had been limited to winter, with the birds breeding in other states.
Trumpeter swans have been successfully reintroduced in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, and in Ontario, Canada. With breeding birds in nearby states, the natural range expansion back into Indiana was expected, according to Adam Phelps, waterfowl biologist with the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife.
“It’s a great success story that we have habitat that trumpeter swans need to breed,” Phelps said. “With any luck, this pair will return next year to successfully hatch more cygnets (young swans).”
Research of endangered species in Indiana is conducted by the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Wildlife Diversity Staff, which is funded primarily through donations to the Indiana Nongame Fund and federal grants.
To help endangered wildlife, donate at EndangeredWildlife.IN.gov.
For every $5 donated, another $9 is matched in federal funds. In other words, you give $5, wildlife gets $14.
