ANGOLA, Ind. (AP) — Indiana wildlife officials are trumpeting the news that a pair of endangered swans have successfully reproduced in the state for the first time since modern birdwatching began.
The state Department of Natural Resources says the trumpeter swans hatched one offspring this summer in northeastern Indiana’s Steuben County.
DNR waterfowl biologist Adam Phelps calls the hatchling “a great success story” that shows Indiana has the habitat trumpeter swans need for successful breeding.
Swan hatchlings are known as cygnets. Phelps says that with luck the nesting swans will return to the area next year to hatch more cygnets.
Trumpeter swans have been reintroduced in several Midwestern states and Ontario, Canada, and breeding birds in nearby states were expected to expand the species’ range back into Indiana.
