Swan Keeper's Handbook:

A Guide to the Care of

Captive Swans

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► While visiting, always keep a distance of at least 5 feet from swans. During the Spring, Mothers and cygnets are often bothered by people who stand too close to their nest to watch them. Please stay back from the fences that the Park Management erect around the nests.

► Never try to touch them. They‘re not domestic birds, and don’t relate to touch.

► Avoid loud sounds or sudden abrupt movements that could be interpreted as a threat.

► Dogs: Never bring a dog near swans (on- or off-leash). Swans are, from experience, afraid of dogs and will interrupt whatever they were doing (eating, enjoying the sun on dry land, preening their feathers or just sleeping) and run to the water. This is highly disruptive to their life.

► Keep an eye on your children to ensure they don’t provoke the swans. Encounters are nearly always happy ones, but use good judgment.

► Don't throw anything at swans.

► Don't feed them. Feeding swans makes them more likely to come closer to human intruders, and makes them more vulnerable to harm. Also, there are foods that are not nutritive (filling their stomach with non nutrients) or that are bad for their health. Finally, when a mother is nesting, please don't throw food at her because food will attract predators who will eat the eggs or harm her.

► Let nature take its course, and enjoy the unequalled pleasure and surprises the swans will provide.