Swans are graceful and beautiful creatures and as such, people have many questions about them. They want to know about their mating rituals, their diet, their preferred habitats, and even their lifespans. How long do swans live for anyway? Swan lifespans actually vary and here’s what you’ll want to know!
Swan Lifespan
Swans are beloved long-necked birds that are part of the family Anatidae. These waterfowl live in ponds, lakes, marshes, estuaries, wetlands, streams, and elsewhere. The seven swan species are mute swans, black swans, trumpeter swans, black-necked swans, whooper swans, tundra swans, and coscoroba swans. In general, swans usually live for between 20 and even 30 years.
How Long Do Mute Swans Live?
Mute swans are enormous white birds that, true to their name, are typically quiet. They have strong hearing and eyesight. Wild mute swans can get to 19 years of age. They generally survive for 321 months in total. Captive ones are a whole other story. They can live for as long as 30 to 40 years. One specific mute swan in Denmark actually was able to get to an impressive 40 years old back in 2009.
How Long Do Tundra Swans Live?
Tundra swans are on the smaller side when it comes to swans and breed in North America’s distant Arctic region. Although their feathers are completely white, they have black feet and legs.
While the oldest known wild tundra swan lived for a minimum of 23 years and seven months, wild tundra swans generally survive for roughly a decade if they are lucky. Their captive counterparts sometimes live for twice as long so for a maximum of around 20 years.
How Long Do Trumpeter Swans Live?
Trumpeter swans have the distinction of being the largest waterfowl that are native to the vast North American continent. People occasionally confuse them with the previously mentioned tundra swan as they look similar and come from the same continent.
Trumpeter swans that are in the wild occasionally surpass 20 years of age. A prominent captive male of the species lived for longer than 35 years. He was a Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge resident.
How Long Do Black Swans Live?
Black swans primarily breed in the southwest and southeast parts of Australia. They’re nomadic creatures in their Down Under homelands. Although they come from the land Down Under, they’ve been brought to both Europe and North America. Black swans that are in the wild often survive for approximately 12 years. Black swans that are in captivity, on the other hand, can live for upward of four full decades.
The Life Cycle of a Swan
Typical swan life cycles are pretty straightforward. Female and male swans team up to create sizable nests using moss and grass. They create these nests on raised sections of land that are close to lakes and ponds. Female swans take things to the next level by laying between three and five eggs inside of the aforementioned nests.
Incubation is another major step. The females rest on top of the eggs as a means of promoting warmth. The males look over them for defense purposes. They safeguard the eggs from all kinds of outside dangers. Hatching is next. The eggs make their debuts once roughly 32 days have gone by.
Lastly, tiny cygnets gain the ability to swim. It doesn’t even take a day for them to gain this ability after hatching. They trail their mothers in order to locate sustenance. Swan youngsters frequently remain in the company of their mothers and fathers for approximately 18 months.
Dangers Swans Face
Many diverse components can affect longevity in swans. Unsurprisingly predators often influence how long swans live. Several examples of swan predators are raccoons, foxes, wolves, and human beings.
Since swans are impressively large and are defensive, they don’t actually have many natural predators. Other swan threats are collisions with power lines, deadly lead poisoning, severe weather conditions, poaching, and a broad range of illnesses.
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