Thursday, November 15, 2012

The last of Rolling Hill Zoo's gray wolves has died as the result of a rare, aggressive cancer.

Stony was the last of the pack of four gray wolves at Rolling HIlls, and was euthanized Tuesday. He was 11 and a half.

He came to Rolling Hills in 2003 with three other male wolves, Cain, Rio and Lobo. Cain died in 2010, Rio in 2011 and Lobo earlier this year.

In the wild, gray wolves typically live 6 to 8 years, but in captivity they can live up to 12 or 13 years.

Rolling Hills is now examining the future for the exhibit, and considering the acquisition of more gray wolves.

Below is information provided by Rolling Hills about gray wolves:

The gray wolf, also known as the timber wolf, is the largest member of the canine family. Wolves can range in color, from pure white in Arctic populations, to brown, gray, cinnamon and black. As the ancestor of the domestic dog, the gray wolf resembles German shepherds or malamutes. There are an estimated 7,000 to 11,200 wolves in Alaska and more than 5,000 in the lower 48 states. Around the world there are an estimated 200,000 in 57 countries, compared to up to 2 million in earlier times.

Wolves were once common throughout all of North America but were killed in most areas of the United States by the mid-1930s. Today their range has been reduced to Canada and portions of Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Mexican wolves are found in New Mexico and Arizona. Thanks to the reintroduction of wolves in 1995, Yellowstone National Park is one of the most favored places to see and hear wolves in the native habitat.