Two new swans are calling Duke Gardens home.

Paul D. Jones, the curator of the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, brought the pair of Whooper swans to the Gardens on Thursday evening.

The pair is from the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in Scotland Neck.

Jones said the new swans were a way for visitors to see new and uncommon wildlife, "and especially for younger children ... here's an opportunity to see part of our world that's very colorful, interesting, and what you'd normally see in a book," he said.

The curator said there have never been swans in the gardens before. Part of the reason is that swans can be aggressive, according to Jones.

So he got two female birds, and he says they should not have aggression problems.

Several geese, ducks and swans were also introduced to the Gardens' pond.

Jones says the swans cost about $700 total. They were paid for by donations.