The city of Lakeland held its 42nd annual swan roundup Tuesday morning starting at dawn. City workers gathered the swans, descended from Queen Elizabeth II’s birds, to give them their annual health checkup.

This includes microchipping cygnets, recording weights and deworming. Because of overeating bread, some of the swans have a malady called “bumble foot,” which presents as sores on their feet. It is caused by being overweight and walking too much. Kevin Cook, director of communications for the city of Lakeland, and the swan veterinarian share more info about the roundup in this video interview.

A gallery of photos from the Swan Roundup can be found here.

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Kimberly C. Moore, who grew up in Lakeland, has been a print, broadcast and multimedia journalist for more than 30 years. Before coming to LkldNow in the spring of 2022, she was a reporter for four years with The Ledger, first covering Lakeland City Hall and then Polk County schools. She is the author of “Star Crossed: The Story of Astronaut Lisa Nowak," published by University Press of Florida. Reach her at kimberly@lkldnow.com or 863-272-9250.

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