Edinburgh Zoo Wolves return to the zoo

dfg photography

dfg photography

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From the EZ website:

Edinburgh Zoo is celebrating the return of wolves after a 16-year absence from the animal collection. Three male European wolves, named Dalls, Puika and Ilknis have been transferred from the Highland Wildlife Park and have settled into their new enclosure in the Zoo. The remaining male at the Highland Wildlife Park has been joined by a female in the hope that they will form a breeding pair. This is just one of a series of moves between the two parks, both of which are owned by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).

The wolf was once widespread throughout Europe but due to hunting, habitat loss and diseases passed onto them by domestic dogs they are now confined to small pockets in Italy, Poland, France, Portugal, Russia, Scandinavia, Spain and throughout Eastern Europe. They howl mostly during twilight and when leaving and returning from a hunt. They don’t, as many believe, howl when there is a full moon. Wolves are often the topic of myth and folklore and as a result capture the imagination of the public.

Iain Valentine, Head of Animals, Conservation & Education for RZSS, said:

“We’re really pleased to welcome back the wolves to Edinburgh Zoo. They are an iconic species and were missed by both visitors and staff when they left the collection. We also recognised that, as they are so popular, they should also remain at the Highland Wildlife Park where our newly formed pair will hopefully contribute to the breeding programme for this species.”

Really excited about this! Can't wait to see the pack and get some photos.
 
Great to see that the wolves are coming back to Edinburgh Zoo

The HWP will be well worth a visit soon with the addition of the tiger pair, mercedes and a pair of breeding wolves hopefully :) exciting times :)
 
you can get a train to newtonmore or kinguissie, both of which are pretty close to hwp. according to the zoo's website there is also a bus service which stops at the park.
 
dfg photography said:
The remaining male at the Highland Wildlife Park has been joined by a female in the hope that they will form a breeding pair.
..As they are so popular, they should also remain at the Highland Wildlife Park where our newly formed pair will hopefully contribute to the breeding programme for this species.”
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I don't quite understand. Presumably these are European wolves? A few years ago there was a big fuss when they euthanased some Canadian wolves as they were replacing them with European wolves. Did they only bring in males or have they lost a previous female?

Current history of these wolves, anybody?
 
when i was there last year there were only male wolves. according to one of the keepers they brought in a female in the hope that she would breed with the males. however, sadly, during the introduction process the males attacked and killed the female.
 
Where is the wolf enclosure in Edinburgh zoo?
 
Its up past the Tiger enclosure that is currently housing jaguars :)

Not sure how easy it is to get to by bus or train dfg... sorry :( and because its a safari park in bits it might be hard for you to get those great shots that you often get :)
 
Great, thanks.
 
macca said:
when i was there last year there were only male wolves. according to one of the keepers they brought in a female in the hope that she would breed with the males. however, sadly, during the introduction process the males attacked and killed the female.
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Thanks for the information. that's obviously why they have sent three of the males to edinburgh, so they could introduce a new female on a 1.1 basis unlike the previous one. Hopefully this new pair will create their own pack if they breed.
 
The male that was left at HWP was the omega male. The three at Edinburgh are outdoors but not yet fully into the main enclosure. The plan is that they will be next week.
 
The female was with the males for a while if i remember correct and she did mate, the post mortem found she couldnt conceive which may explain why the males killed her
 
glasgowanimal said:
The female was with the males for a while if i remember correct and she did mate, the post mortem found she couldnt conceive which may explain why the males killed her
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Do you know where they came from, and whether this 2nd female came from the same source?
 
It's written directly above my first post in this thread. Read the thread first lol.
 
The Tigers swapped enclosures with the jaguar at the moment because the jaguar enclosure is better for them to be quarantined in :)
 
Does anyone know what's happening with the wolves at the moment? When I was there on October 31st the viewing area was closed off on the hilltop and the wolves did not appear to be out. I was there yesterday and still couldn't see the wolves. I also noticed that covers are now over the windows of the viewing area (same as HWP). Are the wolves having problems settling in I wonder? Does this typically take a while?
 
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