(Radio Iowa) – Before this week’s warm-up, more than 30 swans were trapped in the ice on Little Wall Lake in central Iowa’s Hamilton County. Rescue efforts were hampered as the ice was too thin to safely support humans, so a hovercraft was used last week to reach the struggling birds. Jeni Boonjakuakul, with the Iowa Bird Rehabilitation Center in Des Moines, says seven swans were saved, but three died, likely from a combination of exposure and lead poisoning. “We took the four remaining ones to the Nebraska Wildlife Center. They have a full-time vet and some amazing equipment and we were able to get the lead out of the gizzards of two of the swans,” Boonjakualkul says. “Two are still there because they were too unstable to do the procedure, but we are hoping within the next day or two, that they stabilize, and then we can do the procedure on them as well.”

Another 24 dead swans were pulled from the icy lake by rescue and recovery teams. Boonjakuakul says it’s common for swans to be afflicted with lead poisoning. “They usually are ingesting lead particles that are at the bottom of the lake, and Little Wall Lake is 30 inches lower than it normally is due to our drought,” she says. “The swans have very long necks, so they were able to reach the bottom, and as they forage, they’re picking up particles, and then the lead just sits in their gizzard. It doesn’t digest and it doesn’t move through their system and it just continues to poison them.” It’s hoped all four swans can return to the Iowa rehab center to be nursed back to health, though it could take months.

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