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Working hand-in-hand with the USFWS Mexican Wolf
        Wolves continued
                                                               Recovery Program is the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan®
                                                               (SSP) of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. An SSP is a
                                                               cooperative population management and conservation program
                                                               for mostly endangered or threatened species. Species Survival
                                                               Plans work with geneticists to make sure animals too closely
                                                               related to each other do not breed.
            Facts About Packs                                     The teams of both programs regularly meet during the
                                                               Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan Annual Meeting. In 2018,
            Wolves live in packs with complex social structures.    the meeting was held at Brookfield Zoo and drew Daniels’
            The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service defines a wolf pack as    colleagues from Mexico and the U.S., and their Fish & Wildlife
            two or more wolves that maintain an established territory.    Service partners. The meeting gives scientists and conservationists
            •  Pack sizes vary, but usually have between 12 and    an opportunity to share their knowledge and research findings,
              14 members.                                      and further develop a master plan to support the species—both
            •  Packs are highly structured and hierarchical. They are   animals in the wild and in professional care.
                                                                  “We work together collectively to determine which animals
              headed up by an alpha male and an alpha female.    to breed, which need to move from one facility to another, and
              Each pack member has a role.                     which animals will be released,” said Daniels. A breeding and
            •  Wolves communicate by vocalizing and scent marking.   transfer plan is created and shared in the fall each year. If the
              They also use their body posture and facial expressions   plan calls for the transfer of animals, they are moved by January,
              to display dominance or submission.              before the beginning of breeding season.
            •  Packs are cooperative, with many benefits          At the annual meeting, animals are also chosen for cross-
              for members. They hunt as a group, so they can bring   fostering, for artificial insemination, and for semen collection and
              down larger prey than an individual animal alone.    banking. CZS participates in these initiatives. Our veterinarians
              Pack members cooperate in raising pups, caring for    have engaged in the collection and storage of semen from many
              sick and older members, and defending their territory   of the male wolves that have resided at Brookfield Zoo. They have
              and food supply.                                 also conducted preliminary artificial insemination trials to help
            •  The average litter size is from 8 to 10 pups, with about   develop successful techniques.
                                                                  In fall 2019, the breeding and transfer plan called for our
              50 percent dying during their first year. By the age of 2,   breeding pair at the time, Apache and Ela, to be moved to Living
              the majority of young wolves leave their pack to join   Desert State Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Early the next year,
              another pack or start their own. A small percentage    our new alpha/breeding pair—Amigo and Sibi—arrived. Amigo,
              of wolves remain on their own.                   the male, arrived from Mesker Park Zoo in Indiana. The female,






























                                                                Above, left: 2021 Wolf Pack —Vivilette, Amigo, and Sibi
                                                                Above, right: Dr. Copper Aitken-Palmer of Veterinary Services performs a neonatal exam on a pup.

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