CRYSTAL LAKE--Officials with the Iowa Turn-In-Poachers [TIP] program are currently offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of persons who shot a wild trumpeter swan near Hancock County's Crystal Lake.

According to DNR Wildlife Technician, Dave Hoffman, the severely injured bird was recovered about five miles southeast of Crystal Lake near the intersection of 300th St. & Maple Ave.

"The swan had a broken wing as well as several shotgun pellets in the body," said Hoffman. "With those type of injuries I don't think the bird could have traveled very far from where it was shot."

After receiving a report of the injured swan, Hoffman quickly located and captured the huge waterfowl. He immediately rushed the injured bird to the Orphaned and Injured Wildlife, Inc., rehabilitation clinic located at Spirit Lake. An x-ray examination revealed that in addition to a broken wing, the swan had also suffered broken ribs and had a total of 12 [BB sized] pellets remaining in the body.

The injured trumpeter was marked with a bright red, plastic ID collar -- number 5C2. When spotted and reported by human observers, wildlife biologists use the ID numbers to trace the life histories of individual swans. In this case, however, Hoffman didn't need to consult a database to see where this particular trumpeter had originated. He already knew the bird well.

"This trumpeter is a female that was hatched at West Bend in 2003," said Hoffman. "In April of 2004, she became part of a group of five yearling swans that were relocated and released to the wild as part of a public dedication ceremony for the Union Hills Bird Conservation Area. The swan had returned to Union Hills this spring, about three weeks before she was shot. As a three-year-old, this bird could potentially have produced eggs next spring."

The injured swan is still alive but remains in critical condition. Anyone with information regarding the shooting can report to the TIP hotline at 1-800/532-2002. If desired, callers may remain anonymous.

"The thing people need to realize is that these swan shooters are not hunters," said Hoffman. "They are poachers and vandals. The dollars that hunters provide through the sale of hunting licenses and duck stamps are restoring the wetlands that swans and other wildlife need to survive. Whenever someone shoots a wild swan, they steal from all of us."

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