Native populations
The total native population of Mute Swans is about 500,000 birds at the end of the breeding season (adults plus young), of which 350,000 are in the former Soviet Union. The largest single breeding concentration is 11,000 pairs in the Volga Delta.
The population in the United Kingdom is about 22,000 birds, as of the 2006-2007 winter, a slight decline from the peak of about 26,000-27,000 birds in 1990. This includes about 5,300 breeding pairs, the remainder being immatures.
Other significant populations in Europe include 6,800-8,300 breeding pairs in Germany, 4,500 pairs in Denmark, 4,000-4,200 pairs in Poland, 3,000-4,000 pairs in Netherlands, about 2,500 pairs in Ireland, and 1,200-1,700 pairs in Ukraine.
Populations in western Europe were largely exterminated by hunting pressure in the 13th-19th centuries, with the exception of semi-domesticated birds maintained as poultry by large landowners. Better protection in the late 19th and early 20th centuries allowed birds to return to most or all of their former range.
More recently in the period from about 1960 up to the early 1980s, numbers declined significantly again in many areas, primarily due to lead poisoning from birds swallowing discarded fishing sinkers made from lead. After lead weights were replaced by other less toxic alternatives, Mute Swan numbers increased again rapidly.
Introduced populations
Mute Swans have been introduced into North American and the increase in numbers has deemed it to be an invasive species. Other introduced populations are small, with around 200 in Japan, less than 200 in New Zealand and Australia, and about 120 in South Africa.
The status of the Mute Swan as an introduced species in North America is disputed by the pressure group “Save The Mute Swans”, who produced a variety of claims to support their stance that Mute Swans are native in the region and therefore deserving of protection. These claims are specifically rejected by the US Department of the Interior as specious.
New Zealand
The Mute Swan had absolute protection in New Zealand under the Wildlife Act 1953 but this was changed in June 2010 to a lower level of protection. It still has protection but is now able to be killed or held in captivity at the discretion of the Minister of Conservation.
United States
The Mute Swan was introduced to the United States in the late 19th century, primarily for its ornamental value. Recently, it has been widely viewed as an invasive species because of its rapidly increasing numbers and impacts on other waterfowl and native ecosystems. For example, a study of population sizes in the lower Great Lakes from 1971 to 2000 found that Mute Swan numbers were increasing at an average rate of at least 10% per year, doubling the population every seven to eight years. Several studies have concluded that Mute Swans severely reduce densities of submerged vegetation where they occur.
In 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to “minimize environmental damages attributed to mute swans” by reducing their numbers in the Atlantic Flyway to pre-1986 levels, a 67% reduction at the time.
According to the 2003 Federal Register the proposal was supported by all thirteen state wildlife agencies which submitted comments as well as by 43 bird conservation, wildlife conservation and wildlife management organisations. Ten animal rights organisations and the vast majority of comments from individuals were opposed. At this time Mute Swans were protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act due to a court order, but in 2005 the United States Department of the Interior officially declared them a non-native, unprotected species. Mute Swans are protected in some areas of the U.S. by local laws, as for example in Connecticut.
Cultural references
- There is rich iconic and literary evidence for Celtic bird-goddesses who took the form of swans. Similarly, swans are highly revered in Hinduism.
- The Irish folk tale of the Children of Lir had the three children of King Lir magically transformed into swans for 900 years until, for the spell to be ended, they were blessed by a monk, Christianity having been introduced to Ireland by Saint Patrick during their enchantment.
- The phrase swan song refers to this swan and to the legend that it is utterly silent until the last moment of its life, and then sings one achingly beautiful song just before dying.
- Socrates’ last words before being put to death in 399 BC: “You think I cannot see as far ahead as a swan. You know that when swans feel the approach of death they sing, and they sing sweeter and louder on the last days of their lives because they are going back to that God whom they serve.” (Plato)
- The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar noted that the British tribes thought wild geese and swans “unlawful” to eat or kill. By medieval times, though, swans were considered an edible form of poultry. Nowadays they are protected in many countries.
- A Mute Swan was shown on the official Euro during 2005 when the Union was headed by the President of Ireland.
- The Mute Swan has been the national bird of Denmark since 1984. Prior to that, the Skylark was considered Denmark’s national bird (since 1960).
- The fairy tale The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen tells the story of a cygnet ostracised by his fellow barnyard fowl because of his perceived homeliness. To his delight (and to the surprise of others), he matures into a graceful swan, the most beautiful bird of all.
- Today, the Crown (the British monarch) retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but the Queen only exercises her ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries. This ownership is shared with the Vintners’ and Dyers’ Companies, who were granted rights of ownership by the Crown in the 15th century.
- The Mute Swans in the moat at the Bishops Palace at Wells Cathedral in Wells, England have for centuries been trained to ring bells via strings attached to them to beg for food. Two swans are still able to ring for lunch.
- The pair of swans in the Boston Public Garden are named Romeo and Juliet after the Shakespearian couple, however, it was found that both are female.
- Camille Saint-Saëns composed a movement called Le Cygne in The Carnival of the Animals. It is played by solo cello and two pianos and represents a swan gliding over the water (cello) and the ripples it creates (pianos).
