© Larry WongAn injured swan at the Wildlife Rehabilitaion Society of Edmonton's shelter in southwest Edmonton.
Air Canada has offered a free flight to Vancouver for the swan, which is currently being cared for by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton.
The swan arrived at the shelter in October with a fractured wing.
The injury is now healed, but it can't stay at the shelter for the winter.
These birds don't do well in captivity, said Cheryl Feldstein, the society's executive director, adding she is very pleased with the airline's offer of a free flight.
The bird will likely take its flight out to Vancouver on Tuesday or Wednesday, where it will join other swans that overwinter in that area.
Feldstein said they're going to have to get a volunteer to build a special transportation container, one big enough for the swan to move about.
The cargo hold the bird will be traveling in has a temperature of between 2 C and 10 C, certainly warm enough for a swan that spends time in the Arctic, Feldstein added.
The society is eager to get the swan back into its natural habitat.
Aside from swans not doing well in captivity, the society also is housing a grouchy Canada goose and a crabby coot waiting their turn to use the society's only pool, Feldstein said.
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