European wolves in the UK
- Thread starter Vulpes
- Start date
Most of the older groups of wolves in the UK are either Canadian timber (sometimes refered to as MacKenzie River subspp - original Howletts, Dartmoor) or timber/European crosses, as mentioned previously. The Wildwood animals did originate from UK Wolf Conservation Trust, but the latter also keeps timber wolves. They are all hand-tame and often seen at Agricultural shows. WW still has a pack of wolves (originating from Carpathians). Offspring from this group have been dispersed to Combe Martin WP and the previous Norfolk WP (not entirely sure where they ended up after the changes). Whipsnade does indeed have Euro/timber crosses. They do not look like any of the Europeans that I have seen or worked with. Highland's original group were also crosses and were 'replaced' controversially with Scandinavian-origin animals circa 2005. These are the current group split between the two Scottish collections. The Spanish subspecies is/has been held at Howletts and Colchester. Not sure about or seen the Paradise animals. Shrepeth claim to have timbers, but I have heard that they may be the only true domestic/wolf crosses in the country; have heard the same comment about the pair at Welsh primate sanctuary too. There is also a private sanctuary on the Welsh border towards Shrewsbury in lovely setting that rescues wolves. I would think they have some ex-display timbers and Europeans, but not too sure.
That covers all the animals in the UK that I am aware of... So we currently have groups of four pure subspecies (some in breeding situations) and an odd mixture of subspp hybrids and possible domestic crosses.
That covers all the animals in the UK that I am aware of... So we currently have groups of four pure subspecies (some in breeding situations) and an odd mixture of subspp hybrids and possible domestic crosses.
They definately look like European wolves but that doesnt mean that they dont have a percentile timber wolf parentage in them.
for the same reason they got rid of the other wolves, they redeveloped the exhibits first for web-of-life/B.U.G.S and then for the monkey encounter.
The Shepreth ones are very dark in color and do look like some of the timber wolves I've seen. I regularly work with Timber /Artcic wolves and I think the ones at Whipsnade are very different, however time of year can play a big role in wolf appearance so may just have caught them wrong.
Vulpes
Well-Known Member
Im pretty sure Shepreths are domestic dog hyrbids, have a look in the gallery there are some pictures of them.
Here are some links to private wolf sanctuarys in the UK
Anglian Wolf Society home page
UK Wolf Conservation Trust - Working to keep wolves in the wild
Wolf Watch UK - working for wolves!
Anybody know if Longleat keep Europeans? they are listed in zootierliste as doing so?
Here are some links to private wolf sanctuarys in the UK
Anglian Wolf Society home page
UK Wolf Conservation Trust - Working to keep wolves in the wild
Wolf Watch UK - working for wolves!
Anybody know if Longleat keep Europeans? they are listed in zootierliste as doing so?
according to the map on the website they do but just to make sure im waiting for a reply to an email from someone who lives near wildwood
just got a reply and they do still have wolves
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Vulpes
Well-Known Member
has anyone any pictures of Wildwood? id be interested in seeing some of their enclosures it seems to get very little mention on here despite having some real gems of species such as a breeding group of water shrews! I thought with the EAZA European Carnivore campaign more zoos would have taken on European wolves. I saw the Iberian wolves at Howletts. They were very active!
The enclosures are pretty standard wooden and mesh aviary-style for most smaller species, pig netting on posts for larger species and mesh panels with overhang for the wolves. The appeal of WW is that it is set in natural Kentish woodland, so the basic exhibits (generally) don't reflect badly on the animals. That said the wolf exhibit is largely denuded of undergrowth and in winter is a swamp. Some species can be very difficult to see due to to their individual natures (stoats, weasels, adders, beavers), while others can be difficult to see because of the size of the exhibit (roe deer, wolves). Chances are you will not see the shrews as they along with water voles, dormice and harvest mice are bred off-display. Unfortunately the park isn't run like a progressive zoo. Management try to run the park as an educational 'woodland experience' which is fine, but the animals take a very much back seat as to the importance in the park. The big drawcards have always been the badgers (very much an under-rated display species in the UK) and the wolves.
The reason more zoos haven't taken on wolves are that they traditionally hard to place from surplus. And when you start breeding, then surplus wolves abound. I imagine a fair proportion of the Longleat and Whipsnade wolf pups don't make it to their first birthdays. Unfortunately it is just the way it is managed.
Like Tetrapod stated, the issue with wolves is, it is nigh on impossible to introduce new animals to an existing pack, so as stated surplus are hard to place unless a new pack is being formed at another location and the existing pack can be effectively split.
Tetrapod - your imagination about the wolves at Whipsnade is awry, reproduction management is used to prevent them having cubs every year and they certainly dont breed animals just to euthanise young healthy animals once the crowd draw of the young has been diminished. With the dominance structure of wolf packs both in captivity and the wild, the young do struggle sometimes as they are obviously right at the bottom of the hierarchy to start with.
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I don't know the exact situation at Whipsnade so I cannot say with any proof. Having quickly checked the unreliable ISIS site Whipsnade has 7.1 animals. Therefore it would be reasonable to assume that the female is either neutered or on the pill. I assume zero breeding due to the aforementioned surplus problem and lack of births mentioned on ISIS. However don't be fooled that euthanasia is not used as a management tool by many collections, many with proud ethical reputations.
Pups generally do not struggle in established packs if they are born to the dominant bitch due to her position and assistance from related adults. Pups born to lower-ranking females however do struggle for resources, and often enough it is the dominant bitch who is responsible for dispatching the competing mouths.
I only know about the Whipsnade situation, and indeed contraception used to be used for the female. Wolf cubs dont seem to have the appeal of other species, especially as they spend a lot of time underground. With the questionability about the Whipsnade wolves hybridisation heritage I wonder if they made a concious descision not to breed, to let the pack die out and to bring in an entirely new blood line of different wolf subspecies?
I haven't witnessed pups being born except to the alpha pair, in the rare cases I have heard where the beta female has also given birth (often when the alpha and beta are closely matched) I was aware that infancide usually took place. I guess the hierachical problems I mentioned is when the pups become juevenilles and because of management new pups haven't been born. These low ranking animals really get beaten up and if vetanarian intervention that requires removing the animal from the pack is required it is almost a death sentence for the individual as you already stated, extra wolf stock is hard to place because of the social dominance issues of the wolf pack structure.
I'm definately well aware of euthanasia as a management tool, for hoofstock especially, no zoo can have so much luck as breeding the female to male ratio that zoos keep naturally! Whipsnades batchelor paddock is really just an insurance policy against losing breeding males of any given species.
I remember about ten years ago that one of the zoos got a lot of bad publicity because it was butchering its excess hoofstock and using it for carnivore food (I cant remember which UK zoo it was, but it wasn't ZSL). I really couldn't understand the opposition, carnivores eat meat, why should it matter if its eating cow or horse meat against that of an antelope or deer? The meat is fresh, cheaper and the zoo has full records on the history of the animal before it become food. I think the emergence of BSE within the zoo community may have added to this practice as its easier to control from within.
I'm surprised that there isnt more public disquiet about euthanasia as a management tool, bull elephant births being the prime example. I actually fully support euthanasia as an animal management tool as there is only a finite amout of space available for captive breeding within the zoo community and after all, survival of the fitness is at its most basic level within nature. What I cant stand is the hyprocrisy from the public in thats its ok to butcher "farm" animals for consumption, but not exotics.
I'm off for my dinner - finch, chimps and mushy bees (all male excess stock of course from an already well represented gene pool)
Finch and Chips? Is there a major cod shortage?
In 2000, cod was placed on the list of endangered species by the WWF. The WWF issued a report stating that global cod catch had suffered a 70 per cent drop over the last 30 years, and that if this trend continued, the world’s cod stocks would disappear in 15 years.
I think chimps are in even shorter supply ;-(
The ZSL Animal Inventory for 31st December 2008 confirms that there were 7.1 grey wolf - with no subspecies shown - at Whipsnade . A year earlier there were reported to be 10.0 . The ZSL do not show the usual arrivals , births , deaths and departures in their published inventories . It is not possible to determine what happened during 2008 , whether a female was obtained or there was a previous error in the sex determination of the group .
Unfortunately I do have to agree that euthanasia must be a management tool used by zoo management of captive animals. It is too difficult to control breeding of all individuals, not to mention the problems of an unequal sex ratio.
I also agree that there should be some provision for zoo management to utilise surplus hoofstock to carnivores. For a start you at least know the provinence.
johnstoni
Well-Known Member
I don't think you're correct about male elephant calves being euthanased. Unless you're talking outside of EAZA?
I think the issue is that, once that becomes acceptable, it kind of shifts the ethos of a collection slightly. IMO it wouldn't be long before some collections were overbreeding in order to harvest ungulates to feed carnivores. The logical next step would then be for some collections to start farming various species for profit, while exhibiting them as zoo stock. Ethically, it just gets a little cloudy as the boundaries are not clear. Speaking as a sworn vegan (I'll fight and win, don't even try me lol), I see the hipocrasy of the public being horrified at an animal being fed a day old chick before they trot off to the zoo cafe for burgers and sausages, but I still think its a dangerous path to go down. Especially as putting a surplus male calf down can be done humanely with a lethal injection administered by a vet, but obviously animals meant for meat will not be killed so humanely. People are being sold an experience, where they are encouraged to admire and want to conserve the animals shown to them, I think this experience would have to be radically re-marketed to make people pay to see farmed antelope that they know will be slaughtered to feed the carnivores on site.
I dont know about EAZA, but it would not suprise me, the ratio of male to female elephants cannot be explained any other way unless you can point me at collections holding large batchelor herds of elephant. I dont have the time, but guess I should try and choose some examples and try and follow the lineage of random males in the elephant data base.
I think in certain collections the ethos have already been breached, its just that they are not publicised. You mention excess male calves being humanely euthanised by injection, but it being a less humane to be killed to enter the food chain. In my view, it is less ethical to euthanise the overstock of male calves from an endangered species and waste the meat and having to kill a non-endangered animal less humanely to feed the carnivore. In this case two lives are lost, not just one, the haziness comes if you value the life of one type of animal above that of another, should one hundred cows be killed to keep a lion over its lifetime, 100 crickets to keep a frog alive, it goes on and if humans didnt interfere it would just be accepted as nature. There really is no difference between farming antelope and breeding and saving rare exotic animals, animal management is key to healthy and stress free animals in naturalistic sized gender ratios and groups. Zoos signage and information is never going to lead the visitor to think about ethical dilemas where they might discriminate against the zoo, they will lead campains such as the bush meat issues and get you to sign a petition to save gorillas while they have no qualms about culling excess deer and antelope.
I'm not an advocate for euthanasia as the principle animal management tool, but I do think its a necessity where gender ratios in the wild are widely uneven and nature cannot be replicated where predators prey on single males that aren't protected by the herd structure. As for veganism, thats a personal choice and I'm not even going there!