New
pair of red wolves arrive at Miller Park Zoo
MPZ holding public vote for female wolf name
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[December 26, 2014]
BLOOMINGTON
– Two new Red Wolves, a male and female, are settling into their new
home at Miller Park Zoo. |
“Elohi” (Cherokee for “of the earth”), the
two-and-a-half-year-old male, came from Chehaw Wild Animal Park in
Albany, Georgia. The female arrived from Point Defiance Zoo and
Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington.
The female has yet to be named, so the Miller Park Zoo is giving the
community the opportunity to vote for their favorite name on the
Miller Park Zoo’s Facebook page. The naming options are listed
below.
- Kawoni — Cherokee for Flower Moon (April), which is her
birth month
- Tacoma — For her birthplace of Tacoma, Washington
- Waya — Cherokee for wolf
In hopes to bolster the numbers of the endangered species,
the Miller Park Zoo staff will make sure everything is ready for
the early 2015 breeding season. Miller Park Zoo had past success
with increasing the population of the Red Wolf. The last Red
Wolf, "Kai," left the Zoo in September to go to the Niabi Zoo
near the Quad Cities. Kai arrived at the Miller Park Zoo in 2009
and gave birth to three litters in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2012,
two of Kai's pups were released into the wild in North Carolina,
which is the only wild location where Red Wolves are found
today. All the moves were recommendations from the Red Wolf
Species Survival Plan.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Dec/26/images/ads/current/st_claras_lda_082114.png)
The Red Wolf is one of the world's most endangered Canids.
Once common throughout the Eastern and South Central United
States, Red Wolf populations were decimated by the early part of
the 20th Century as a result of intensive predator control
programs and the degradation and alteration of the species'
habitat. The Red Wolf was designated an endangered species in
1967, and shortly thereafter the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
initiated efforts to conserve the species. Today, more than 100
Red Wolves roam their native habitats in eastern North Carolina,
and nearly 200 Red Wolves are maintained in captive breeding
facilities like the Miller Park Zoo throughout the United
States.
[Miller Park Zoo] |