Gone to the dogs

Two male gray wolves from the New York State Zoo are the latest additions to Potter Park Zoo. The eight-month-old brothers share the parents of fellow Potter Park Zoo female gray wolf, Tala.

“Our staff has worked very hard to help these two wolves adapt beautifully to their new environment,” said Sherrie Graham, director of Potter Park Zoo. “We are proud to add these  residents to our collection and are eager to have them viewed by our guests.”

When visiting Potter Park Zoo, the wolves can be distinguished from one another by color and size. Tala, the female, is white and gray in color and weighs approximately 76 pounds. The males are black mixed with silver and already weigh approximately 90 pounds at eight months old. In gray wolves, males are typically larger ranging from 70 to 145 pounds while females weigh 60 to 100 pounds.

The new male wolves haven’t been named yet.

“The two young males have been successfully introduced to their exhibit and to Tala,” said Cynthia Wagner, Potter Park Zoo’s Animal Curator. “Wolf social structure is quite complex, and the one we’ve seen develop among these three wolves is very healthy.”

Gray wolves are the largest members of the dog family, Canidae. There are many subspecies of the gray wolf, including the dingo, arctic wolf, and domestic dog.  Wolves have thick fur with a dense undercoat, which provides them with protection from cold. They live and hunt in packs, allowing them to take down larger prey such as deer, elk and moose. Gray wolves communicate through body language, scent marking, barking, growling and howling. The packs social hierarchy is reinforced through frequent communication.

A federal judge ordered the Great Lakes gray wolf to be returned to federal protection under the Endangered Species Act last month.

Potter Park Zoo is open daily year-round, winter hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.