New in the Press: Rare Mexican gray wolf to call Cheyenne Mountain Zoo home

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs hopes a new Mexican gray wolf will be a good fit with the zoo’s male.

The six-year-old female joins the 10-year-old male in the Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit. If Weeko (which means beautiful girl) and Masadi (which means moon) hit it off, a litter of wolf pups could be in the zoo’s future.

“They immediately showed signs of comradeship. When they first met, they engaged in a lot of prancing and play-bowing, and even stood side-by-side in the ‘on alert’ stance,” the zoo’s animal care manager, Dina Bredhal, said in a news release. “¦

Any pups that Weeko and Masadi have will have limited contact with humans so they can be released into the wild. For example, there is one-way glass in the viewing area of their exhibit, the zoo said.

“We want them to maintain a healthy respect of humans. Aside from the basics, we are very hands off and don’t foster a close relationship with the wolves,” said Bredahl.

You can read the full article, published in the Denver Post on January 12, 2011, and view the video here. 

Please submit a letter to the editor  calling on elected officials to respect the work being done by captive breeding programs by opposing legislation that would remove Mexican gray wolves’ Endangered Species Act protections: openforum@denverpost.com (150-word limit, no attachments).

Photo caption: Mexican gray wolves in captivity