On September 26th of this year (2018), Maro, a female Common Wolf wolf, passed away at the age of 11. She had been suffering from diabetes and had been undergoing treatment. The number of Common Wolf at Tama Zoo is now 5 males and 3 females.


Maro when he was healthy
The keeping of Common Wolf at Tama Zoo began in 2001 with a male named "Lobo" and a female named "Moro," who arrived from Russia. News from 2001 Lobo was large and had a gentle face. Moro was small and slender, but had a wolf-like face. The two were a good match and 15 wolves were born to them (please also see the article at the link below).

Born in May 2007, Maro was the fifth female born in the pack, and the sibling of the males "Cero," "Loto," and "Roy." She had a sturdier build than her mother, Moro. Maro was a very tomboyish wolf, and whenever a dispute arose within the pack, she would stick her nose in even if it didn't concern her, meddling and making things worse.

Moro died in August 2013, and Lobo died in February of the following year. With the loss of their leaders, the wolves began fighting one after another, and many were injured. Although there had been frequent fights before, they rarely resulted in serious injuries, which made us realize once again how important Lobo and Moro were to the group. The two were rarely seen directly mediating fights, so it seems that their mere presence kept the others in check.

The fights were more intense among the females, so we separated the five females. There were no fierce fights between the males and females, so we divided them into five groups and kept the males and females together. Maro spent his last days in the same room as Cero, and immediately after Maro's death, it seemed that Cero's howling increased.

All of Common Wolf at Tama Zoo are over 10 years old and are aging. In the wild, they would not live this long due to the harsh environment and conflicts. Some individuals have health problems, but all are generally healthy. In the future, we plan to improve our care methods and diet to help them live healthier lives.

As winter approaches, the wolves will grow their winter coats. I think the winter coats make the wolves look even more like wolves. Please dress warmly when you visit the zoo.

Related news
"Common Wolf name decided” October 5, 2001
"Common Wolf gives birth ”April 22, 2005
"Common Wolf are breeding!!” April 20, 2006
"Common Wolf have been born again this year! June 8, 2007
"A large family of Common Wolf ”August 10, 2007
"We have high hopes for Common Wolf again this year! ”April 25, 2008
"Common Wolf Moro has died. ”August 14, 2013
"Current status of Common Wolf” December 13, 2013
"Common Wolf "Lobo" has died. ”February 23, 2014
"The wolves' summer ”August 25, 2017

[Tama Zoo, Tama Zoological Park]

(November 9, 2018)