Page 11 - Gateways_FALL 2024
P. 11

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         How Fostering Brings Pups to the Wild                    Pups fostered in the wild by wild parents appear to have a better
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                                                                chance of survival than human-raised animals released as adults.
         B r e e d i n g p a i r s, i n c l u d i n g V i v i l e t t e a n d A m i g o , a r e r e c o m m e n d e d      c han c e  o f  s ur v i v a l  t han  h um an - r ai s e d  an i m a l s  r e l e a s e d  a s  a d ul t s .
         Breeding pairs, including Vivilette and Amigo, are recommended
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         for breeding by the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program and Mexican        Wolves born and raised at the Zoo have been successfully released
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                                                                as adults into the wild. Some of them survived and even produced
         Wolf SAFE. Genetic and demographic data are used to make strategic
         W o lf S A F E. G e n e t i c a n d d e m o g r a p h i c d a t a a r e u s e d t o m a k e s t r a t e g i c    a s a d u l t s i n t o t h e w i ld . S o m e o f t h e m s u r v i v e d a n d e v e n p r o d u c e d
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         breeding recommendations that maximize the wolf population’s     litters of pups with a wild partner. However, protecting the adult
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         P l ac i n g  z o o - b o r n  p u p s  d e sc e nd e d  f r o m  g e n e t i c a l ly  u nd e r r e p r e s e n t e d    the wolves is illegal, many have been shot and killed. To avoid
         Placing zoo-born pups descended from genetically underrepresented
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         lineages into wild packs boosts the species’ genetic diversity and     e encounters with people, fostered pups are placed into dens
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          Program scientists closely monitor female wolves in managed        The Mexican Wolf Recovery Program has been successful.
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         f fostering is possible. Researchers have determined the best time to     wolves live in their native range across Arizona and New Mexico,  ,
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                                                                according to a 2023 population census conducted by USFWS.
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         remove pups from their biological mother is before they fully bond     a c c o r d i n g t o a 2 0 2 3 p o p u l a t i o n c e n s u s c o n d u c t e d b y U S F W S .
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         w it h h e r , o r w it h i n 1 0 d a y s a f t e r t h e i r b i r t h .      It was the eighth consecutive year of population growth for the
         with her, or within 10 days after their birth.
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          Upon arrival to the wild den, members of the Mexican Wolf     wild population.  .
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                                                                 Come by Regenstein Wolf Woods and visit our pack—Amigo;
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         I Interagency Field Team stealthily cover the fostered pups in the scent        C o m e b y  R e g en s t ei n  W o l f  W o o d s  a n d v i s it o u r p a c k — A m i g o ;
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         of the pups already in the den to ensure they all smell the same.        Vivilette; the two remaining pups, Molly and Sierra; and their older
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                                                                brother, Ahote who was born in 2023. As a supporter of the Zoo,
        The biologists then monitor the radio-collared mother to verify that
        T h e b i o l o g i s t s t h e n m o n it o r t h e r a d i o - c o l l a r e d m o t h e r t o v e r i f y t h a t      b r o t h e r , A h o t e w h o w a s b o r n i n 2 0 2 3 . A s a s u p p o r t e r o f t h e Z o o ,
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         she returns to the den and accepts the zoo-born pups as her own.  .    you make this critical work possible. Thank you. .
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                                                                                 BROOKFIELD ZOO CHICAGO | FALL 2024  11
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