The Lee County Conservation Department has been taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of five trumpeter swans (or cygnets) born earlier this summer.
Adult trumpeter swans do not always have the best of luck raising their newborns, especially in the face of predators and severe weather.
However, Conservation Director Tom Buckley said this time around is different. He thinks that could be attributed to the fact that the adult swans have more parenting experience.
"Of the four different groups of young that they've had, this is the first time all of the newborns survived to this point, so we're pretty excited," Buckley said.
Many of the swans have died from hypothermia and other severe weather. Staff built a nesting area to help protect them from the conditions.
Buckley said a swan can live to be 15-years-old. He is hopeful that this summer's newborns can reach that life expectancy.
