According to a bizarre post on the Alaska State Parks’ Facebook page, the Department of Fish & Game recently euthanized a baby swan.
It’s crime: it approached a park ranger and allowed the ranger to pet it.
The post said the swan exhibited “unusual behavior” by approaching ranger, laying beside the ranger, and allowing the ranger to pet it. The post asked the public for help identifying anyone who may have possibly domesticated the swan.
According to the post, “Unfortunately, this behavior indicated that the swan had likely been illegally captured, domesticated, and later released, making it unable to survive in the wild.”
Apparently, Fish & Game’s logic was they needed to kill the swan to save it.
The post says the swan ended up at the Fairbanks Department of Fish & Game office after a placement could not be found. This means the killing of the swan was a multi-agency operation as the Division of Parks falls under the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
There is no indication the swan was injured. The Landmine reached out to DNR and Fish & Game requesting more information, including whether the swan was injured and why it could not have been taken to a bird sanctuary or zoo. The story will be updated when we hear back.
One Anchorage Facebook commenter wrote, “It’s a swan not a nuclear submarine… I’m sure they could have found a good home for it.”
Another from Wasilla wrote, “Good Job you saved a bird from a potential life of ease at one of hundreds of homes in the state that would have happily taken it in and cared for it.”
The number provided on the post for Ranger Wyatt Derner went directly to voicemail.
Update: The Facebook post on the Alaska State Parks page was taken down after this story was published.
Update: The Department of Fish & Game sent the Landmine this statement about the baby swan:
On October 23, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) staff were contacted by a Department of Natural Resources State Parks Ranger regarding a swan that appeared habituated to humans. ADF&G’s highly trained wildlife veterinarian and biologist staff conducted a physical examination and determined that the swan was not a domestic breed, was significantly emaciated, and had imprinted on humans.
ADF&G staff explored placement options by contacting multiple bird rehabilitation and wildlife facilities. Unfortunately, due to concerns about potential disease transmission and the inability to obtain the required U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit because of the federal government shutdown, placement was not an option. With no alternative available, ADF&G staff humanely euthanized the bird. A subsequent necropsy revealed the bird had a fractured sternum and would never be able to fly or migrate south. Given the severity of its condition, the bird was in extreme pain, and euthanasia was the most humane option
This situation serves as an important reminder that when animals become habituated, their ability to survive in the wild is compromised. Alaska law prohibits intentionally or negligently feeding wildlife as well as taking in wild animals without a permit. Feeding and habituation increase the risk of human-wildlife conflicts, can lead to injury or death of animals or people, and can increase the risk of spreading diseases to either wild or domestic animals or humans.
Maybe it was a lonely baby bird that thought that “creature” (Alaska Fish and Games person) could comfort it. Sickening
William Stock.
game.
Wow! What a hugely important story! Fabulous reporting on the most urgent issue facing Alaska!
What a scoop! Interesting, so I guess. But I believe in letting trained professionals do their job, and that’s what they felt needed to be done, so respect. All the Monday Morning Quarterbacking by the people who feel the need to, it’s just ridiculous. “But you could’ve done this. What an idiot move!” Spare me. I trust expertise and defer to it, and understand that I often won’t understand, and that’s life. We need to start trusting science and experts more.
Well said.
The man can’t eat if he doesn’t feed the algorithm, man
Looking forward to Landfield’s deep dive on Monday’s looney MAGA Houston city council meeting that needed trooper response.
But first, baby swan scandal.
A true swan song
I hope some lucky native elder got to eat it.
Usually those kind of critters go to a Zoo or in this unusual situation a petting zoo for young kids and families
Where the orphan and domesticated critter becomes a permanent exhibit in a learning atmosphere
The response is the example of government extremism where group think can’t think outside of itself
“………Usually those kind of critters go to a Zoo or in this unusual situation a petting zoo for young kids and families………” Obviously, you’re one of those city slickers. When was the last time you saw a goose in a kid’s petting zoo? I’ve personally witnessed two adult people get their butts whupped by geese. One was an Alaskan high school wrestling champ who got whupped by his own “pet’ goose, and the other was my wife (and we had domestic geese, too) who got it by a wild Canada goose who hung in our yard pestering our domestic geese.… Read more »
Remember that authorities are making an unproven accusation that someone captured it and spent time with it before release. It could had just been a rarity of a bird that was interested in humans a on its own or maybe it got stuck and a kind hearted human got it unstuck and let it go but it never forgot the kindness of a human being releasing it.
So don’t get all condemning believing the governments accusation it being intentionally domesticated.
There are lots of IF’s here