{"id":104589,"date":"2021-11-29T05:14:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T12:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=104589"},"modified":"2021-11-29T11:28:49","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T18:28:49","slug":"hunters-are-killing-trumpeter-swans-in-utah-when-they-shouldnt-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/29\/hunters-are-killing-trumpeter-swans-in-utah-when-they-shouldnt-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunters Are Killing Trumpeter Swans In Utah When They Shouldn’t Be"},"content":{"rendered":"

I may not be successful but I’m going to try to keep today’s post as short as possible. I went off on an extended rant recentl<\/a>y<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and I’d prefer not do it again. Not so soon anyway.<\/p>\n

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This is an older photo of a Trumpeter Swan as it was preening on Elk Lake in southwest Montana. Trumpeter Swans are the heaviest native bird species in North America, weighing up to 33 lbs. That’s about twice the size of the much more common Tundra Swan which is far from a lightweight.<\/p>\n

By 1932, largely due to high demand for their primary feathers, meat and skins, only 69 Trumpeter Swans were known to exist and those known birds were found near Yellowstone National Park which led to the establishment of nearby Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana’s Centennial Valley in 1935. The refuge, whose border is only about a mile from Elk Lake where these first two photos were taken, played a major role in bringing Trumpeter Swans back from the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n

The drastic historic decline of Trumpeter Swans began during the early fur trade and settlement of western North America by Europeans. Following is a quote (typos corrected) from Ed Forbes, an early Kalispell, Montana rancher, that illustrates the prevailing attitude of the time:<\/p>\n

\u201cI punched cows\u00a0in the Centennial Valley in Beaverhead County from 1883 to 1888. During that\u00a0time I saw quantities of swans, and killed many young birds which we thought good to eat.\u00a0 We used to paddle after them among the\u00a0tulies\u00a0(bulrushes) and rope them, as they never seemed to learn to fly until ice formed around the shores, and were fearless, big, and awkward. Even then it took them a long, flapping flight to clear the water. The young birds would dive, and come up at a distance of 600 feet when chased with a boat.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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These swans are massive, magnificent and elegant birds. This one lost a feather while it was preening and watched it slowly drift away.<\/p>\n

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Trumpeter Swans actually breed at Red Rock Lakes NWR and several times I’ve been lucky enough to see and photograph families of them right from my campsite on Lower Red Rock Lake. I actually took this photo from inside my camping trailer. Average clutch size for the species is five so to see six youngsters raised to this size was a sight to behold.<\/p>\n

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Utah hunters, who can legally hunt Tundra Swans, apparently can’t tell the difference between a 30+ lb. Trumpeter Swan and a 16 lb. Tundra Swan.<\/p>\n

Three days ago Utah’s DWR announced that for the third year in a row, Utah\u2019s Tundra Swan hunt came to an early close after the Trumpeter Swan harvest breached a 20-bird quota set to limit the hunts impact on Trumpeters migrating through Utah from the Yellowstone region. Utah’s hunters are supposed to be shooting Tundra’s but many of them are shooting Trumpeters instead. And there’s fear that at least some of them are doing it deliberately because Trumpeter Swans are considered to be such a “trophy” (I hate that word in a hunting context).<\/p>\n

This post is already far longer than I wanted it to be and I feel my blood pressure rise as I type this so if you’d like more information about what’s going on in Utah with Trumpeter Swans and hunters please refer to this link from a Salt Lake Tribune article<\/a><\/span><\/span> from three days ago.<\/p>\n

If I were King of the World I’d ban hunting of swans of any species, hunting of all predators and trophy hunting. I’d also make trapping of any and all wildlife strictly illegal, with harsh penalties for those who persist. And I’d get rid of the federal government’s notorious and deliberately misleadingly-named “Wildlife Services”.<\/p>\n

But then I’m not King and I’m not likely to be anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n