Audubon Zoo Welcome First Ever Maned Wolf Pups

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: March 4, 2022 4:00 am

One of the first ever maned wolf pups born at the Audubon Zoo on January 31st 2022

Photo Credit: Audubon Zoo

Audubon Zoo have welcomed their first ever maned wolf pups. Often known as a fox-on-stilts, the maned wolf is a native of South America.

Mother Brisa and father Sheldon arrived in New Orleans in August 2021 and quickly hit it off to produce the first ever maned wolf pups born at the zoo on January 31, 2022.

"Brisa is doing extremely well as a first-time mother," said Audubon Zoo’s Vice President and General Curator Bob Lessnau. "She is being extremely attentive to her pups and is nursing well. Sheldon is also stepping up to the plate of fatherhood and has been keeping a close eye on the pups."

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Brisa moved to Audubon Zoo from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute as part of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. They recommended she breed with Sheldon who came to the zoo from Sunset Zoo.

A species survival plan is a cooperative effort between zoos accredited by the AZA to ensure captive populations of animals are genetically diverse.

Maned wolves are a native of grassland and scrub in South America. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) consider this species to be near threatened. Their numbers have been affected by human-wildlife conflict and habitat destruction.

Guests visiting the Audubon Zoo can meet the maned wolves in the South American boardwalk area. At present Barisa and Sheldon are being given privacy to raise their cubs. Additional barricades have been added at the exhibit to assist with this.

Learn more about Maned Wolves here - Maned Wolf Fact File | The Animal Facts

Learn more about the Audubon Zoo on their website – Audubon Zoo

An adult maned wolf carries one of the pups born at the zoo on January 31st 2022

Photo Credit: Audubon Zoo