Kayak Swan Roundup

Every year a local group of kayakers start at one end of a major lake in Orlando, FL to herd all the swans to the other end so a vet can check them out. Here’s a short video I made from the event. I hope to be out on the water next year with them.

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Interesting and nice they’re being cared for.

Guessing this is some sort of city attraction since the film showed a guy clipping the wings of one swan.

Weird that they want to take care of them. Here in Michigan they are considered an aggressive invasive species. They kill off Canada geese and are responsible for a few people deaths as well. I’ve been attacked - pretty scary when something with a 9 foot wingspan comes at you in a kayak. Fortunately my paddle is longer than their neck. I learned not to kayak wearing a white cap, that seems to set them off.

Native Trumpeters used to hang out here but they are long gone and are now endangered in the state. The DNR is in a bind because people think the Mutes are lovely. https://www.michigan.gov/invasives/0,5664,7-324-68002_73846-369897–,00.html

Well if the swans do that we need some in NE Fla. :wink:

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Keep wild animals wild.

There are several swan species at Lake Eola. http://www.cityoforlando.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Swan_trifold.pdf

Agree about the nasty Mutes, which are an invasive species here in Michigan. Good info on them here: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/MuteSwanFacts_final_366761_7.pdf

How long does an “invasive” have to live somewhere before it becomes a “native”?
Even “Native Americans” came from somewhere else.

And yes, swans that killed Canada Geese would be awesome.

It’s above my pay grade, but I really enjoyed seeing the ones around the Chesapeake Bay when I first started kayaking. They were awesome. It brings to mind a sign I saw on a fence “WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER”. That apparently isn’t true, SOMETIMES WAR IS THE ONLY ANSWER, and somebody took the side of the geese. Too bad they just didn’t get along.

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