Experience with Whooper vs Trumpeter swans? (and picture)

[harry marsh]

I started with Australian Black Swans. Loved them.
But they are a bit too mobile for my property. I have a 3 acre lake behind the house, but the black swans would end up in the neighbor's yards (they walk around your yard a lot). They would follow you around the yard like a dog. I miss them.

I was scared of one of the swans being attacked by a dog, and thought the mutes were prettier, so I traded them for mute swans

....mistake, although the Mute swans rarely leave 10 foot from the water's edge

The mutes I have are notorious for being the most aggressive species. Frankly, the male is a nasty SOB. If you're in a boat in the lake and he decides he wants to attack (which is often), he doesn't stop until he or you is hurt.
I realize that they're breeding and nest making, but this personality is not going to get any better. He actively seeks you out, to attack.

So, in my journey with swans....I'm thinking about trading the mutes for Whoopers or Trumpeters
Does anyone have any experience with particular personalities?
It's hard to find information on Whooper or Trumpeter swans.

I think the whooper swans are a bit prettier than trumpeter swans, but I like the idea of having a native Trumpeter swan. . .
I am leaning toward the trumpeter swan for this reason.


Any thoughts from anyone to help me decide between Whooper or Trumpeter? Any experiences?
I'm in North Carolina.

A picture for eye candy. You can see the male mute in the bottom left. He sees me on the deck and already wants to bite me.

 

[Dr. Todd]

The biggest potential detraction from Whooper and Trumpeter Swans are their calls. They are both loud birds and their repeated calling, especially by the Whoopers, can get very old - even to the most enthusiastic owners after a while (and usually to their neighbors much sooner).

Personality-wise they can be as aggressive as Mute Swans but the males usually aren't quite so in your face- but each bird is different and I've seen some truly dangerous males of both species while others are quite gentile. In my experience hand raised birds - especially those that have been coddled- turn into the most aggressive adults. The parent raised birds tend to be more reserved.

Both species are more terrestrial than Mutes and could wander like the Blacks.

One solution to the aggression problem would be to replace the male you have with one or more additional females. They will still hang together and you can use your pond again!

DT