ORLANDO, Fla. — For more than a century, the swans at Lake Eola have been among the most iconic symbols of the city of Orlando.

But on Friday, officials announced the city has decided to move its famous swan flock to new homes, putting a “pause” on the program that has kept dozens of birds in the city’s signature park for decades.

The decision was made this week as the city completed a “comprehensive review” of the swan program following a deadly outbreak of avian flu earlier this year, which led to criticisms from some of the volunteer caretakers that the flock wasn’t adequately cared for.

In a statement, Mayor Buddy Dyer said the decision was made for the well-being of the swans.

“That is why, after consulting closely with state and federal partners, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, we have decided to pause the program and work with partners in animal care to rehome them,” the statement reads. “I know this is hard for our community, but also our staff and volunteers who have worked diligently in taking care of them over the years, to hear.”

Lake Eola is visited by millions annually and is home to an eclectic mix of fowl. The jewel of the park is the vast flock of swans, which had reached numbers as high as 80 and included nearly every variety found all over the world. But the 30 or so deaths earlier this year due to bird flu has whittled the number of swans down to about 44, a city official said.

As the swans are removed from the water and given new homes in the coming months – beginning with recently hatched cygnets and their parents, as well as those nesting eggs – the public may still see some number of them there.

During the annual swan roundup, vets have also found a few wild swans that had flown in and settled on the lake and would still be allowed to stay.

The process of finding new homes for the birds is expected to begin soon, and officials hope for it to be completed by early fall.

City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, a longtime backer of the flock who has purchased birds and sought donations for others, said she agreed with the decision, even if she didn’t like it. She said the transmissibility of avian flu among birds without a known cure made keeping the birds safe a tall task.

“My hope is that there will be a shot or an inoculation or an injection to cure the avian flu,” she said. “It’s sad for everyone. I know there’s going to be a lot of people who are going to be upset by this decision; it’s not one we’ve come upon lightly.”

Following the avian flu outbreak, which began in December, advocates called city leaders to do a better job of cleaning trash, feeding swans, and improving infrastructure and water quality. But many, including Andrew Marshall, a volunteer caretaker of the birds, started to question the program itself.

The move to find other homes for the swans, he said, was “the right thing to do.”

“I’m very pleased with the decision to do what is right by the animals,” he added.

At first, he said, ending the swan program wasn’t his goal. But the more research he did and experts he spoke to, his concern grew as mated swans are territorial and typically don’t live in such large groups.

“We learned this is not a safe environment,” he said. “This is not natural.”

Avery Boger, the city’s Signature Parks and Events program manager, said the city’s swan program could return one day after construction improvements to the park are completed, though such a decision would come later.

“Right now it’s a pause, it’s going to be paused during the construction,” she said. “The swan program is going to be reevaluated as that project progresses.”

In a news release, the city said FWC has strict rules for captive wildlife, and officials determined it would be difficult to consistently comply with those rules in an urban park – especially one that is expected to undergo a substantial overhaul in the coming months and years as part of the Lake Eola Master Plan.

“We were probably going to have to move them anyway because of the construction, but this kind of forces our hand,” Sheehan said.

The tradition of swans in Orlando began when a resident of Lake Lucerne, originally from England, purchased a swan for his lake in 1910. But the so-called “Billy the Swan” was mean and territorial toward another pair of mated swans at Lucerne, so that pair were moved to Lake Eola for their safety in 1922.

The flock and waxed and waned over time, with Trumpeters, Whoopers, Royal Mutes, Australian Black and black-necked varieties all swimming there at one point or another.

Over time, the birds have become synonymous with the park, and pedal-powered swan boats have graced the lake for almost as long as the birds have been there. Last year, the city celebrated its “Swantennial” celebration of the boats.

On Friday, though, the page about the swans’ long history in Orlando could no longer be found on the city’s website.

_____

©2026 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.