It is a little-known chapter in the history of wildlife management in the American West. In the 1960s, a private landowner in Paradise Valley, Montana, acquired two mute swans because he liked the way they looked swimming in a pond. According to Terry McEneaney’s Yellowstone Bird Report, the pair multiplied rapidly, and by the late 1970s, the mute swan population in Paradise Valley had reached a high of 120.
Mute swans are native to parts of Europe and Asia and were introduced to North America largely for ornamental purposes. Their presence in Paradise Valley became a concern because the area was north of Yellowstone National Park and was also used by native trumpeter swans. The National Park Service became involved because officials feared the exotic mute swans could compete with the native birds.
