Majestic trumpeter swans are dying of lead poisoning in
unusually high numbers, the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center,
a Sequim-based wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization
reported Wednesday. “We have personally treated at least six
cases of fatal lead poisoning in Olympic Peninsula trumpeter
swans just this winter, which is likely only a fraction of the
number of poisoning cases in the wild,” said Matthew Randazzo of
the Center. “All of these swans were shown to have ingested lead
ammunition, which is poisonous across a wide range of species.
If these swans had died in the wild, it’s likely that their
carcasses would have been consumed by scavengers such as bald
eagles, who then could have been poisoned as well. Trumpeter
swans are migratory winter residents of the Olympic Peninsula.
They are on average the largest native species of bird in North
America. They were once hunted nearly to extinction, but have
been successfully reintroduced in Canada and the United States
despite a widespread prevale