Recovering trumpeter swan dies in surgery, hunter charged

BEND, Ore. – A young trumpeter swan died while undergoing a second surgery after being shot by a hunter in Lake County.

The Bend Bulletin reports that the bird named Hope had been rehabilitating broken wing bones at Native Bird Care of Sisters.

Because the wing wasn’t healing properly, she was taken to Springfield this month for the second surgery.

Hope had been considered a success for Oregon’s trumpeter swan reintroduction program. She was the first young swan hatched at Summer Lake Wildlife Area to reach adulthood.

She was an older sister to other swans in Summer Lake, including another killed by the same hunter.

The Cottage Grove man reported the shootings to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He reportedly mistook the swans for a species that can be hunted.

He’s been charged with attempted unlawful taking of a game bird.