Isabella
Schuster, left, and Melanie Smith, interns at the Washington Park Zoo
in Michigan City, attend to the new timber wolf puppies. Smith is
attending North Carolina State University while Schuster is a student at
St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer.
MICHIGAN CITY | Northwest Indiana's
only zoo now has among its exotic animals three baby timber wolves,
whose howling could turn some heads. The major reason for
bringing wolves to Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City is to promote
them as an endangered species worth protecting, but the high school
sports teams being nicknamed ''Wolves'' also didn't hurt.
It's the first time the zoo has had wolves since the 1980s. "It
is neat to have them back after so long and the fact that the school
does have the wolf as a mascot is pretty awesome as well," said
Jacquelynn Schmalzried, a zookeeper and education curator at the
lakefront zoo.
Two of the wolves are sisters born just 10 weeks ago in Tennessee while the 13 week old male wolf was brought in from Ohio. The
timber wolves, native to North America, Europe, Asia and parts of
Africa, won't be out for public viewing until their exhibit directly
across from a facility that contains three White Bengal Tigers is
finished before the end of summer.
However, visitors can
now catch a glimpse of the wolves if they happen to be near a fenced in
grassy area where they're occasionally brought out for a short time to
exercise. Schmalzried said the wolves have grown
immensely since coming here last month and they're now on more of a meat
diet, but they like other things including sweet corn. "Since they're young and they're teething they like to chew on that," she said.
Zoo
Director Jamie Huss said the focus at the zoo is on all endangered
species and to educate how the population of certain wild animals
diminish and what can be done to restore their numbers. Over
hunting is among the reasons cited for timber wolves being endangered
along with factors that impact the population of wild animals, in
general, like man through development infringing on their natural
habitats. "Our hope is that the exhibit will bring some
awareness of the wolves' plight," said Huss, who while caring for the
wolves has had their traditional howling.
Timber wolves being ancestors of domestic dogs are also known for barking, growling and whining.
The public is invited to take part in naming the wolves by offering suggestions over the phone and on the zoo's webpage.
Huss
said three names can be offered by each individual for $5 and half of
the proceeds will go for conservation and the remainder for caring for
the wolves. Judges will narrow down the list before the end of June then decide on names for each of the wolves on July 25. "It's really exciting to have the public being able to get in on this," said Schmalzried.
Two of the three new, young timberwolves at Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City explore their new surroundings.
A
new exhibit for timberwolves is under construction at Washington Park
Zoo in Michigan City. It is expected to be open at the end of the
summer.
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