Emaciated Tundra Swan Rescued In Westlake

Westlake OH

19 February, 2021

11:44 AM

Description

WESTLAKE, OH — Animal Control Officer Jim Wang was not expecting to rescue a big white bird when he started his Thursday. When a resident spotted a tundra swan in their backyard, they called the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center and they called Wang. Wang had done rescues for them in the past and this bird seemed to be in bad shape. The swan appeared emaciated and exhausted and was floundering in deep snow, the resident said. The swan shuffled out of the snow and into the road, a benefit to Wang who said the bird might have been hard to spot or wrangle if it had remained in high snow. As Wang approached the bird, it was too exhausted to fly or waddle away. Instead, the bird allowed itself to be collected with barely any fight. "It was the first tundra swan I've ever seen. I wouldn't have known what it was if someone hadn't told me," Wang told Patch. After corralling the bird, Wang drove the swan to the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. The experts there have experience rehabilitating all kinds of birds. The ailing tundra swan weighed 5 pounds when it arrived, said Tim Jasinski, wildlife rehabilitation specialist. Tundra swans usually weigh between 13 and 20 pounds. "It is extremely emaciated. We have to be very careful, very delicate with a bird that is that skinny. Their organs can shut down if we give them too much food," Jasinski told Patch. The swan is receiving a high-calorie water fowl fluid mix, designed specifically for ailing birds. Jasinski said the swan is doing OK so far, but a full recovery is a long ways off. "He's a crazy skinny bird. We have to make sure he's stabilized and adjusted before we can give him more oral fluids," he said. Tundra swans are common in northern Ohio during their migratory period. They breed primarily in ponds and lakes in Canada and Alaska and then pass through Ohio in large numbers. They rarely plop down in Westlake though because they feed primarily on aquatic vegetation. "The bird probably just got weak because everything is frozen still. It was probably flying and flying and flying, looking for water. It's been weeks since this bird has eaten," Jasinski said. For now, the swan will continue to receive much-needed fluids as Jasinski and his team work to rehabilitate the bird. After he stabilizes, the swan will receive anti-parasitic medicines to clear out any medical ailments and then, finally, he should be healthy enough to eat real food. With luck, the tundra swan will soon be plump enough to fly again. Our animal control ran across this Tundra Swan in the area of Downing St yesterday. ACO Wang noticed it was in distress...Posted by City of Westlake Ohio Police Department on Friday, February 19, 2021