Trumpeter Swan

North America · waterfowl · conservation success · giant birds

Heaviest bird around. Trumpeter swans are the heaviest wild birds native to North America and the largest living waterfowl on Earth. They're so big and heavy that they need a running start across water to take flight.

Truly wingspan champion. These swans have wingspans that can stretch from 185 to nearly 305 centimeters, which is about as long as a tall person is tall. That's wider than most car parking spaces.

Almost lost forever. By 1933, fewer than 70 trumpeter swans remained in the wild and people feared they would disappear completely. But scientists discovered several thousand living around Alaska's Copper River, which saved the whole species.

Brought back from the edge. Wildlife experts and the Trumpeter Swan Society carefully moved swans to new homes and protected them so well that by 2010 over 46,000 trumpeter swans were living wild again in North America. It's one of the greatest animal rescue stories ever.

American cousin connection. Trumpeter swans are the North American version of the whooper swan that lives in Eurasia, and they're so closely related that some scientists once thought they were the same species.