Sunday 28th April is National Superhero Day, so to celebrate, here’s our five top Wetland Superheroes and their amazing super powers!
The Spur-winged Goose is the world’s most poisonous goose. In the wild, their diet includes blister beetles, which have a defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. This poison is held within the tissue of the Spur-winged Goose, and if eaten by a human the poison can enter the blood stream. 10mg of cantharidin can kill a human!
Our centre is the only centre in the North of England that exhibits Spur-winged Geese in our collection of wetland species.
Bar-headed Geese have incredible flying skills like Superman and is one of the highest flying bird species. They’ve been known to fly over Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world! This goose migrates over the Himalayas to spend the winter in parts of South Asia.
You can see Bar-headed Geese for yourself in our Weird or Wonderful area.
Like Aquaman, these ducks have incredible diving skills and have been recorded diving an incredible 65ft (20m) for food! They also have a very distinct ah-woo call and are one of the first ducks you’ll hear and see when you visit our centre.
There’s no bird with climbing skills as good as Spiderman as a Moorhen. Typically spending more time out of the water than other duck species, Moorhens are brilliant at climbing trees to move from one area to another.
When you next visit, make sure you check around our site for incredible Moorhens!
The mighty Trumpeter Swan is closest to the Hulk in terms of superhero powers, being the largest of all swan species. They can reach lengths of over 1.5m long and can weigh over 15kg – a mighty opponent in battle!
You can see these beautiful and powerful swans in our Wooded Wetlands area.