Three endangered maned wolf pups born at the Louisville Zoo

The maned wolf pups are now on exhibit daily, weather permitting.

Three maned wolf pups recently were born at the Louisville Zoo. A male was born Jan. 7 and two females Jan. 8.

“It was unusual that two additional pups were born a day later,” said Candy McMahan, assistant curator of mammals. “But we were thrilled.”

This is not the first litter for Savannah, 9, and Zev, 11. A previous litter was born in 2003.

McMahan said the two were bred based upon a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP).

“There are only a few species a year at our Zoo that get breeding recommendations, and this year the maned wolves Species Survival Plan (SSP) gave us the go ahead to breed our pair,” said McMahan, who also serves on the maned wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP) steering committee.

Endangered maned wolves were added to the SSP in 1985 because of habitat destruction through agricultural development in their native home—Brazil, Argentina, Parauay and Bolivia. There are less than 100 in zoos nationwide.

Louisville Zoo’s maned wolf pups are healthy, and personalities are starting to emerge. McMahan describes one female as “the boss—brave and curious.” The male is timid, while the other female is rambunctious and has fun growling at everyone.

“I have always liked maned wolves,” McMahan said. “The Zoo plans to work with and care for this species for a long, long time.”

Louisville Zoo Education Curator Marcelle Gianelloni, in collaboration with several members of the maned wolf SSP, prepared a maned wolf education bulletin to be used in zoo education programs. The bulletin has been translated into Portuguese by Brazilian veterinarian Fabiano Montiani Ferreira and is available to zoo educators and other interested parties in Brazil.

A maned wolf pup naming contest presented by Norton Healthcare will be announced soon.

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The Louisville Zoo is the state zoo of Kentucky and a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Our collections, which include botanical gardens, are accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which is building North America’s largest wildlife conservation movement by engaging and inspiring over 143 million visitors and their communities to care about and take action to help protect wildlife."

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