Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Oregon Zoo: Gray Wolf

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A man munching on a bag of popcorn walked up to the exhibit. The female immediately became very interested and came over to the fence. If she were a dog, I'd have said she was flirting or begging.

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Edited to add: I found some more information: http://www.oregonzoo.org/Newsroom/2008releases/2008Dec.htm#wolves

The wolf's name is Yazhi. She and the second wolf, Cheyenne (who was sleeping in the shade while I was there, so I didn't get any photos) just arrived at the Oregon Zoo last December from Minnesota. Yazhi is only a year and a few months old, which might explain her slightly gangly appearance.

I also came across these taken a few months ago at the zoo. Check out the ones of Yazhi playing! She is definitely a puppy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What subpecies is this wolf or was it mentioned?

It looks a lot like the European or common wolf subpecies (Canis lupus lupus).

The wolves I've seen up close have all acted like dogs, but they were much more intense in their behaviors.

admin said...

They don't say. Both the exhibit and the web site are very general and refer to them as Canis lupus.

Retrieverman said...

If they are from Minnesota, then the subspecies is C. l. nubilus.

Retrieverman said...

From looking at Cheyenne, my guess is that he was born black. Black wolves fade to solid gray as they age. It's one diagnostic to determine whether a wolf has dog in it or not, black wolf hybrids generally stay black their whole lives.