CULTURE + ENTERTAINMENT
“There’s a big viewing area into their inside holding that allows guests to see their ‘bedrooms’—or night stalls—so they can almost always be viewable,” she said. “Really the only time they’re not able to be seen right now is if they’re hiding in one of the tunnels—or culverts—on exhibit or under their stock tanks.” Having the ability to hide is important to wolves, the zookeeper says, but the team also wants them to engage with guests because the cubs are so interactive at the young, impressionable age. “The pups love having such a large and expansive holding area because they seem comfortable shifting inside or moving about the stalls, whereas the old building was small and dark and the old pack did not choose to be indoors much at all unless it was to eat quickly and/or cool off in the shade,” said Wulff.
The new building has a massive air exchanger pushing cool breeze throughout the stalls as well as in-floor heat. Come wintertime, Wulff says it will be more comfortable to work in that area and continue to wash and disinfect it year round, which the team was unable to do in the last building without heat or water. Also, the warmed floor will provide the wolves with added comfort when they grow old and need that support for their joints and potential arthritis, which is a common ailment in all canines. That feature won’t be needed for some time, as the reimagined habitat welcomed a new pack of wolf pups named Aurora , Ash , Summit , and Everest .
46 | 605MAGAZINE.COM
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