When Nature enters the city

Quai des Bergues, City of Geneva, Geneva
(Switzerland)

The first pair of swans was introduced to Lake Léman in 1837 in order to embellish Geneva. It is now estimated that there are more than a thousand of them, and feeding them is always a delight for the children. In the late 19th century more than 30,000 birds used to hibernate on the lake; there are now more than 150,000. This can be explained by the appearance in 1962 of the Dreissena mussel, and by the cessation of hunting. Birds on the lakeshores and swamps, however, are in decline because nesting has become increasingly difficult. (C. Bertola)