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 What’s New with the Pack?
It's been awhile since I have written anything about the pack of Mexican gray wolves at the Zoo, so I thought I would take some time to give you an update on which wolves we still have on exhibit and which ones have left the Zoo to go to other facilities.
The Minnesota Zoo is currently exhibiting four males in the pack. All of the males were born here —three from the 2003 litter, and one from the 2004 litter. They range in size from 75-85 pounds (depending on if it's winter or summer) and are getting along well with each other.
The Importance of the Species Survival Plan (SSP)
Since our last series of keeper notes, quite a few wolves have left Minnesota and traveled to other zoos (you can see a list of who's gone where below). The Mexican gray wolves in the SSP are not owned by any one zoo. Instead, they are placed on loan by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Mexican government. Decisions on transfers, breeding, and the like, are made at the annual SSP meeting in July, where each facility is invited to participate in the decision making process for the upcoming year. It is crucial to the survival of the species that these decisions are made based on science rather than each zoo’s independent management wishes. Careful management is one reason that this SSP has been so successful in it's efforts to preserve the world’s most endangered wolf.
Breeding Female-#569: This female went to the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota, in April 2005 with her daughter #900. Both wolves still reside at the Dakota Zoo and I have been told that they are doing well.
Breeding Male-#612: This male was sent to the Cincinnati Zoo in Cincinnati, Ohio, in April 2005, to be paired with a very genetically valuable female for breeding. Unfortunately, a few short months later, he was diagnosed with severe kidney failure and was humanely euthanized due to the severity of the illness.
Female’s from the 2003 litter-#836-839: These four females made a journey from the Minnesota Zoo to the New York Wolf Conservation Center in Salem, New York, in November 2004. In November 2005, wolf #838 was sent from the New York Center to be paired with a male wolf at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service breeding facility for possible release into the wild in 2006. This release took place in July (read more about the release). A second female was chosen for possible release in 2007 and left Salem in November 2006. Two of the 2003 female pups are still in New York.
Female from the 2004 litter-#900: This female was sent to the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota, in April 2005 with her mother #569. She still lives in North Dakota with her mother and I have been told the pair is doing well.
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