African Wolf at Rheine, 03/06/12

Canis lupus lupaster

The single female is the only individual of this recently-reassigned subspecies in Europe.

This is a great photo of an incredibly rare animal, and are there any plans to import a male to encourage breeding?

Thanks!

They were initially imported from Sharjah as a population that was a mix of North African Golden Jackals (ssp. riparius) and African Wolves - this population presumably having been assembled from animals from different sources before the split was understood.

Apart from this animal, the others are now deceased and they have been replaced with European Golden Jackals (ssp. moreotica) - which are none too common display animals in themselves - and importantly, are breeding.

African Wolf

Is this animal in with Jackals, and if so is there a risk of hybrids?

I'm not sure if it has ever been with the European Golden Jackals; it killed the male North African Golden Jackal it was kept with, as did the female in a similar mixed* pair at Arnhem!

It was very much separate (in a different part of the zoo) when I took this.




*although not known to be mixed at the time, as they were all believed to be North African Golden Jackals