May 14th, 2011

This past Wednesday, we introduced the giant anteater, Eury, into the exhibit with the maned wolf family. Before the pups were born, Eury lived with the wolves on exhibit in cooperative weather. The adult wolves would usually move out of the anteater's way when he would walk around the exhibit and the anteater would ignore the wolves. We expected that the adult wolves would behave differently now that they had pups to protect. We had introduced the anteater to the pups through a fence when they were much younger, but the anteater has been out of the exhibit area for more than a month now. Before introducing Eury back into the exhibit, we waited until we felt that the pups were old enough to move out of the anteater's way. Wednesday morning, after a couple of days of fence-contact, relevant staff gathered at the exhibit and preparations were made for the introduction. We weren't expecting anything awful to happen to any of the animals, but we were prepared to separate them again if needed and our veterinarian was on call. When Eury entered the exhibit, the adults didn't get nervous until he neared the pups and/or the main outside den box. The adults did display protective behaviors, but staff was confident that the introduction would continue to go smoothly and that the animals would become acclimated to the situation over time. Because Eury hadn't been on exhibit for quite some time, he was more active than usual and confrontations between himself and the adults occurred fairly often throughout the day. Mid-afternoon, the decision was made to bring Eury out of the exhibit to give all the animals a break from the stress. The pups don't really understand what Eury is and would run to the opposite side of the exhibit when he approached. On Thursday, we again let Eury into the exhibit. All the animals were much more calm than the day before. Today, the adults were much less concerned about Eury being a threat to the pups and the pups were beginning to accept his presence. We will continue to put Eury in with the wolves a little bit each day, with staff watching, until all the animals seem comfortable with the mix. When you visit us, you may now see Eury on exhibit or with access to the side holding yard. This introduction is important for the future of captive maned wolf conservation efforts as successful mixed-species exhibits may inspire more participation from zoos and conservation centers. Not only is this mixed-species exhibit more natural and enriching for the animals, but it is more educational and interesting to zoo visitors. Maned wolves and giant anteaters share native home ranges. Wild maned wolf pups would encounter many challenges and creatures; our pups live in a safe environment that also includes many natural components.