Australian black swan threat to British cousins
By Jasper Copping Aggressive Australian and over here – black swans are spreading across the UK and threatening to force out their native cousins conservationists have warned. The birds, which originate in Australia and have escaped from private collections in Britain, are now breeding at dozens of sites across the country. The number of locations at which the birds are found has more than doubled in the past five years, while the number of breeding sites has more than tripled, new research from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has found. Because they are more aggressive than other species, there are fears they may “out compete” white – or mute – swans for food and habitat in many areas. They could also breed with mutes – a hybrid has been created in captivity called a blute swan. Black swans are also thought to be more aggressive to humans than other species. The research suggests that black swan numbers have increased at such a rate that they may now be added to the authoritative “British List” of birds found in the UK. Until now, the black swan population has not been considered large enough to be self-sustaining. …
