There are currently 10 Common Wolf Tama Zoo. Lobo (male) and Moro (female) arrived from Moscow Zoo in 2001. Compared to when there were only two, you can now observe a pack (group) that is closer to that of the wild.

In a wolf pack, there is one male and one female "alpha wolf" that forms the core of the pack. And, generally, only the alpha wolf is capable of mating and giving birth within the pack.

At Tama Common Wolf Tama Zoo, the European wolf alpha male is Lobo, who is currently 8 years old, and the alpha female is Moro, who is 10 years old. The remaining eight are their offspring: Polo (male) and Moro (female), both 3 years old; Ron (male) and Chiro (male), both 3 years old; and Loto, Roy, and Cero (all males) and Maro (female), who will soon be 1 year old.

They have successfully bred for three years in a row, and it looks like babies will be born soon this year as well. As the due date approaches, the mother's belly not only swells, but the fur around her nipples falls out. This seems to be to make it easier for the newborn to nurse.

Like wild wolves, they give birth in dens they dig in the ground. Since they are animals that are good at digging holes, the enclosure becomes full of holes before giving birth. The enclosure, which was once lush and beautiful, is now in a terrible state.

I suspect she will give birth in the den next to the stairs on the upper right side of the enclosure, but she may move midway through. Even after she gives birth, it's difficult to see the pups for a while, but by June, when they are one month old, you'll see tiny, jet-black wolf pups scurrying around.

Previous News
　Common Wolf appears (September 7, 2001)
[Video] Common Wolf (September 2003) (Howling as soon as the park opens)
　A large family of Common Wolf (August 10, 2007)
[Video] Common Wolf born (June 2007)

[Tama Zoo]

(April 25, 2008)