John Ball Zoo recently announce that a pair of black swans have joined the Zoo family and have been given new names. A naming contest took place on the Zoo’s social media accounts this month, inviting people to vote for their favorite pair of names. The winning names are Pearl and Onyx.

“The black swans’ habitat is located by the entryway to the Zoo, so they are the first animals people see when they visit,” said Dan Hemmann, area curator at John Ball Zoo. “People may even be able to catch glimpses of these beautiful birds from outside the Zoo. We hope the community will join us in welcoming Pearl and Onyx to our John Ball Zoo family.”

The pair of black swans, a male and female, hatched in April 2022 at a farm in northern Indiana. When they arrived at the Zoo they had brown juvenile plumage but have since molted into adults with black plumage.

Black swans are native to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. Smaller than North American indigenous swans, black swans have bright red beaks and the longest necks relative to body size of all types of swans. Their diet is herbivorous, consisting of aquatic and marshland plants, and they can live for up to 40 years.

The outdoor section of the new habitat consists of a large pool and a body of land, viewable from behind glass and enclosed with mesh sides. The birds will also have access to a secluded indoor habitat with a pool to keep warm in inclement weather.

“Black swans are cold-hardy animals, so we expect they will live happy lives at John Ball Zoo,” Hemmann said. “We are looking forward to the community getting to know Pearl and Onyx.”