Pack of tundra wolf pups arrives at the Memphis Zoo. Take a look!
Visitors to the Memphis Zoo will soon have the chance to see an entire new wolf pack after four tundra wolf pups arrived at the zoo from Montana.
The tundra wolves, a subspecies of the gray wolf, are siblings, born in April of this year.
The pups are currently in Teton Trek, but there is not yet a schedule for when they will be visible to the public.
“This will be a really exciting time for visitors to meet the pack, see them as youngsters and be able to learn about captive management and what we do to ensure long-term positive welfare for the pack,” read a news release.
The female in the pack is named “Dottie” in honor of Dorothy Kirsch, a longtime zoo supporter. The three males will be named in the coming weeks.
The zoo’s 14-year-old gray wolf Meeka is not likely to be introduced to the young pack, according to the news release.
She and the pups will rotate in the exhibit yard.
“Meeka has chosen to spend an increasing amount of her time behind-the-scenes where she currently enjoys fans, air conditioning, and laying in or out of the sun depending on the time of day,” according to the release. “Meeka has always been very attached to her caretakers, and being behind-the-scenes allows her better access to her ‘people’ – however, there will be plenty of days where Meeka will be given first dibs to the exhibit yard!”
The largest boy in the pack is all black, his two brothers different shades of brown and the sister a cream color.
As the pups grow and get used to the exhibit, visitors may see keepers in with the pack. As the wolves grow older, keepers will only interact with them through a barrier.
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The new pack comes to the zoo several months after Dakota, a 13-year-old male wolf, died, leaving Meeka the last living member of a pack of siblings who came to the zoo in 2009. Shiloh, another member of the pack, died in 2021 at 12 years old. Wolves in the wild live about 8-13 years.
Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: See photos of the new pack of tundra wolf pups at the Memphis Zoo
