Beep. Beep. Beep. The heart monitor and other monitoring devices hum as veterinary professionals work in rhythm caring for their VIPs — very important patients, that is.
On the exam table in the veterinary clinic lies Terra, who is under anesthesia. The 8-year-old American Red Wolf has inflammatory bowel disease or IBD, a disease that’s common in people, pets and Red Wolves. The veterinary team has been researching IBD in Red Wolves for many years and is continually investigating innovative ways to treat it.
The team, led by Point Defiance Zoo’s Head Veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf (yes, that’s her real name), is doing annual exams on 10 wolves over three days. The wolves live at the Tacoma zoo’s off-site breeding facility in Eatonville, Washington. Each exam averages about two hours.
“The American Red Wolf is the most critically endangered wolf on the planet and the most endangered carnivore in North America,” said Dr. Wolf. “It’s vital that we provide the best possible care to every animal to ensure the preservation of the species.” The wolves are getting complete medical work-ups — nose-to-tail exams, dental checks and cleanings, weights, ear cleanings, blood draws for future analysis, deworming, and even nail trims. It’s an orchestrated team effort with veterinary professionals from Point Defiance Zoo, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, and Dr. Kelly McCord, a veterinary internal medicine specialist from Colorado, working together.
Terra and 48 other Red Wolves – the largest Red Wolf population in the world – live at Point Defiance Zoo’s off-site breeding facility. Only about 20 Red Wolves are left in the wild.
Red Wolves once ranged from New York to Texas, but by the late 1960s to 1970s, very few Red Wolves remained. Excessive hunting, humans moving into their territory, and other animals decimated the population. In 1967, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed Red Wolves as critically endangered under the federal Endangered Species Preservation Act (now the Endangered Species Act).
In the 1980s, Point Defiance Zoo and USFWS established a zoo-based breeding program with 14 wolves from the wild to restore the population. Today, more than 270 Red Wolves are in human care. Four wolves live at Point Defiance Zoo, and 49 live at the zoo’s off-site breeding facility. The goal is to grow their numbers and release the fittest ones into the wild to help replenish their wild population.
“In our own country, we have this critically endangered animal that not many people know about,” Dr. Wolf said. “It’s extremely precious and important, and we need to do everything we can to preserve it.”
During the exam, the team passed an endoscope (a tiny camera on a long, flexible cable) into Terra’s gastrointestinal tract to evaluate the health of her digestive system. By doing this, the team can see the lining of the stomach and small intestine and take small biopsy samples for microscopic analysis. They then performed a novel procedure of introducing healthy gray wolf fecal matter into Terra’s system to see if that might promote good bacterial growth in her gut and perhaps alleviate some of her clinical signs, Dr. Wolf explained.
Even if some of the wolves in human care aren’t qualified for life in the wild, the entire staff who care for them work to keep their lives as wild and natural as possible, explained Curator Natalie Davis. Davis serves as the studbook keeper for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ American Red Wolf Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program. Dr. Wolf is the species’ veterinary advisor.
Point Defiance Zoo and 50 other partners across the U.S. are working together to restore this population.
The American Red Wolf SAFE program keeps extensive genetic records by maintaining a studbook that dates to the late 1960s. The Red Wolf partners trade animals when they see a strong genetic and behavior breeding match to ensure the health of the overall population. They share information, they are always learning, and they all have the same hope that Red Wolves will thrive again in the wild.
“We’ve been working to save the American Red Wolf for a very long time, and I think it’s one of our proudest conservation stories,” Davis said.
Dr. Wolf added, “Red Wolves are a keystone species in the eastern United States. They are the only wolf species that is native to North America and losing them would be losing an important part of our country’s history and cultural pride. We can’t let that happen.”
The post Caring for Red Wolves, an iconic American species and more photos appeared first on Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.
