Whooper Swan

Class: Birds

Order: Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae

Weight: 7-10 kg

Height: 100-150 cm

Body Length: 1.4 – 1.7 m

Coloration: White

Age of sexual maturity: At the age of 3 years

Gestation period: 30-40 days

Lifespan: 10 years

Habitat: They nest along the northern borders of the forests of Eurasia from Scandinavia and Scotland to Chukotka and Sakhalin. To the south, they are found as far as Lake Ladoga, Mongolia, northern Japan, and the northern part of the Caspian Sea.

Diet: They feed on green parts, fruits, and rhizomes of aquatic plants, duckweed, and reed rhizomes. In addition to plant food, swans eat available small bottom animals (crustaceans, mollusks, worms).

Did you know?

• Whooper swans get their name from the loud sounds they make in flight.
• Unlike other swans, whooper swans do not carry their cygnets on their backs.
• The whooper swan is the national bird of Finland and is considered sacred. A pair of whooper swans in flight is also depicted on their 1 euro coins.