Swans are one of the most spectacularly majestic birds in existence and are an emblem of royalty, magic and folklore in some parts of the world. If you have seen one of these graceful birds in Pakistan then you are a very lucky person indeed as these huge water birds rarely visit our country any more. Although — if records are correct — they used to drop by from time to time.

Records indicate that swans were mostly observed here during the late 1800s to early 1900s, although a few have been spotted over the last 30 years. Of the relatively recent sightings, three swans — probably of the Cygnus Cygnus bewickii species — are known to have visited Zangi Nawar lake in south-western Baluchistan in the winter of 1981, with another but unknown number being seen at the same place in 1983.

Whooper swans decided to take up residence at this lake the following year and are thought to have stayed on for a full 12 months before flying off to pastures new and 15 unidentified swans visited the lake early in 1984, but only stayed for a few days before going elsewhere. In much earlier years, swans were regularly seen at Manchar Lake in Sindh, at Kotri on the River Indus and also in Larkana district and around Jhelum, but have long since disappeared probably as a result of human population expansion and all the environmental problems this brings.

Even when swans — perhaps as many as five different species — did come here, they did so only as winter migrants from much further north and west, rarely staying here to breed.Swans, depending on species, can have a body length up to 160 centimetres, a wingspan of 243 centimetres, a beak measuring 99a centimetres and a body weight of approximately six to seven kilograms. Swans are water birds who sift tiny creatures out of the water through their bills but they also enjoy grain such as wheat and enjoy snacking on tender green shoots such as grass.

Female swans often carry their young on their backs in a kind of protective enclave formed by their raised up wings. Both parents are very aggressive if their young are threatened in any way and have been known to hurt human beings quite badly. Some landowners did keep swans as pets on their private lakes and on personal stretches of river and it is remotely possible that the descendants of these flocks are still around but, unfortunately, the only place to be sure of seeing swans in Pakistan, is in the zoo.