Matriarch at Endangered Wolf Center dies at age 14

May 11, 2015, by Staff Writer

EUREKA, MO (KTVI)- The Endangered Wolf Center is mourning the loss of its matriarch. Anna, a Mexican gray wolf, died April 21, 2015, just of day shy of turning 14.

Ana was hand reared after her mother lost two of sibling pups and because of that she was not releasable in the wild. So she stayed at the Center and gave birth to 41 puppies over four litters. The average size of a Mexican wolf litter is five to seven pups.

Several of her offspring born at the Center are now living in the wild. Others remain at the Endangered Wolf Center as part of its Saving a Species breeding program.

Mexican wolves are critically endangered, with only 110 known to be in the wild.

The Center is suggesting several ways the public can honor Anna’s memory on the Center’s website.
The Endangered Wolf Center was founded in 1971 by Marlin Perkins, longtime host of TV’s “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” and former director of the Saint Louis Zoo, and his wife Carol.

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