The Wyoming Biodiversity Minute

Episdode 14: Trumpeter Swans

Wyoming is home to one of the largest waterfowl in North America the Trumpeter Swan. Trumpeters can measure 6 feet long and weigh up to 25 pounds. They are easily identified by their long neck, snowy-white plumage and black bill. They live along wetlands in Alaska, Canada and the Northwestern US. Trumpeters forage by using their long necks to reach aquatic vegetation. Trumpeter Swans will mate for life and each breeding season a female can lay between three to eight eggs. In the winter they migrate to ice-free lakes and rivers. By the early 1900s the Trumpeter Swan was thought to be extinct in the U.S. but one of the last remaining populations was discovered in Yellowstone National Park. Their numbers are now growing and they appear to be on the road to recovery. With your WyoBio Minute I am Brian Barber.