Rescued Swan Fish Gets Gender Reveal Party

Jenny's Wildlife Wonderland revealed that the rehabilitated mute swan named Fish is male before he is released to a new home.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Wildlife

Single white mute swan gliding across calm water at a pond edge lined with green trees in soft warm autumn light. — Jenny's Wildlife Wonderland in Missouri announced that Fish, a rehabilitated mute swan found in July with a severe neck wound, is male and ready for a new home in Macon. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Jenny's Wildlife Wonderland held a gender reveal party for Fish, a mute swan cygnet that was found at Cosmo-Bethel Park in July with a severe neck wound. Fish has healed and is ready to be released to a new home in Macon.

Why it matters

Knowing Fish's sex was necessary to place him in a compatible home, since two male swans do not always get along, especially if they were not raised together. Mute swans are considered invasive in Missouri, which left no other rehab center or waterfowl rescue able to take him.

Visitors could bet $5 on the swan's sex before the party, and a DNA test was used to confirm Fish is male. The new Macon home sits on 40 acres with a pond and was chosen from more than 20 applications.

The players

Jenny's Wildlife Wonderland

A wildlife rehabilitation center in Columbia, Missouri, that treated Fish and hosted the gender reveal party.

Jenny Romesburg

The director of Jenny's Wildlife Wonderland who chose Fish's new home from more than 20 applicants.

The details

Fish was found at Cosmo-Bethel Park in July with a severe neck wound and was treated with a temporary skin graft from an Asian carp. In late September, other swans at the park no longer recognized him and became aggressive, which led staff to seek a new placement.

July: Fish was found at Cosmo-Bethel Park with a neck wound.
Late September: Other swans at Cosmo-Bethel Park stopped recognizing Fish and became aggressive.
Thursday, November 5, 2026: The gender reveal party was held at Jenny's Wildlife Wonderland.

Roadmap

Mute swans are classified as invasive in Missouri, which restricts where rescued birds can be placed once they are healed. Fish's case shows how that classification shapes the options available to wildlife rehabilitators when a bird cannot return to the wild.

Residents who find injured wildlife in Columbia can contact a licensed rehabilitation center for help. Mute swans are invasive in Missouri, so they should not be released or relocated without guidance from wildlife authorities.

The takeaway

Rescued wildlife often needs careful placement, and details such as sex and temperament can decide whether an animal can thrive in a new home. Fish's story shows how rehabilitation depends on both medical healing and planning for life after recovery.