New maned wolf arrives at Shepreth Wildlife Park

A WILDLIFE park is howling about the arrival of a new resident.

Ruby, a maned wolf, is the latest animal to check in at Shepreth wildlife park.

She has taken up residence in the original wolf enclosure, which used to be the home of the Odin and Iskha, both of whom died earlier this year.

Rebecca Willers, animal manager at Shepreth, said: "We were so excited to finally get the go ahead to collect Ruby, since the death of our wolves the atmosphere at the park has been very sombre, they played a huge part at Shepreth in educating our visitors about canid species and conservation.

"So we are elated that we have been able to use their enclosure with such a worthwhile species and expand our work in global conservation.

"Visitors to the park can see Ruby exploring her new surroundings and playing 'catch' with the various insects frequenting her territory.

The maned wolf, whose closest living relative is the bush dog, is found in the grasslands of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Ruby has arrived as part of the European Endangered Species programme.

Miss Willers added: "It is hoped that if we get approval to join EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) later this year, the park will be able to receive a male to breed with Ruby."

As reported in the The Crow earlier this year, Iskha, an elderly wolf, had to be put to sleep after succumbing to irreversible arthritic joint complaints.

Odin never recovered from the loss of his mate and died of a broken heart weeks later.