By Prescot Online on February 3, 2014
Wolf sisters Maria and Morena came from Gai Zoo, in Holland, and are the first of the their species to live at the park in its 42-year history. Half-term visitors to the park can see them settling in to their new home next to the tiger enclosure.
Iberian wolves, native to northern Portugal and northwestern Spain, were hunted close to extinction in the 1950s, but measures including hunting curbs have helped the population recover.
Their fur is a dark reddish brown during the cold winter months, but it will change to grey, with white facial markings and dark patches on their tails and legs, as the wolves prepare for the warmth of the spring.
Keepers at the safari park will try to replicate their diet of deer and wild boar to help them to grow to 30 kilograms and 1.5 metres tall by the time they reach full maturity, at age five. “Iberian wolves are known for their highly adaptable nature and we’re confident that Maria and Morena will settle in well amongst the other animals here at Knowsley Safari,” said Eveline de Wolf, Head of Animal Management at Knowsley Safari. “We have exciting long term plans for our new arrivals, with the aim to bring a breeding male into the park to foster a small breeding pack, as would be found in the wild.”
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