Hi! I'm Marie and I'll be posting ideas about my zoo until I can finally achieve them! Feel free to leave anything in the comments below!
Wolf Exhibit The wolf exhibit will house four wolves and will be on two acres of land. These wolves will be from another zoo or from a wolf reserve. Large Enclosure There will be a 12-foot tall chainlink fence with another 2 feet at the top that's angled inward. All fences will be a - 9 gauge, 2" square measurement. The fence would stand on a 3-foot deep block of concrete to prevent the wolves from digging out. The concrete would be four inches thick and reinforced with mesh, and it would be concealed under rocks and dirt to prevent digging and possible injury. In all, the fence would be 14 feet tall and 3 feet into the ground. Six feet from the first fence is another fence, this one is 8 feet tall. This fence is put in to prevent contact between the wolves and visitors. The fence, in addition, would temporarily contain any wolf that may have escaped its enclosure. There are four ways to enter/exit the wolf enclosure and there is a double gate for every one. The gates are five feet away from each other and each door is six feet tall. Drainage will be provided by any means necessary. Since wolves don't sleep in the same place every night, I've had eight dog houses built for them. Four of the dog houses are in the Northeastern part of the enclosure, and the other four are in the western part of the enclosure. The dog house measurements' are 30 inches x 34 inches x 34 inches. Since wolves like to perch, each dog house will have a flat roof. Since wolves can climb trees, any trees/bushes that are near the fences will need to be removed or trimmed annually. There will be blueberry and raspberry bushes planted around the enclosure that the wolves can eat whenever they choose. There will be a pool in the larger enclosure as well. It will be 12 by 12 and will be 4 feet deep. The pool will be cleaned weekly. To prevent water moccasins, which are common where I live, white vinegar will be sprayed weekly on the bottoms of fences. Vinegar will not hurt the wolves and the smell will diminish once it dries in the sun. Showing Enclosure A smaller enclosure inside of the main exhibit has an area of 21,780 square feet. The fences are 8 feet tall and this is where the wolves are kept during zoo hours. There's a pool that's eight by eight feet and is four feet deep. The pool will be cleaned three times a week. Since the zoo hours are from nine to six, the wolves are brought into the exhibit at 8:45. They have been trained to come when called for a reward. There are allowed to go back into the larger enclosure between 12 and 2 o'clock, and they are brought back in at 2:05. People can nonetheless see them in the enclosure, and there will be tower viewers that people can use for 25 cents. Food and Water Water is refilled daily and there are six water troughs in all. Four are in the larger enclosure, and two are in the showing enclosure. All of the water troughs are secured to the fence to prevent spilling and swimming. Food is supplied daily, the starting weight will be 10 lbs and will be adjusted as needed. There are four food troughs in all, three are in the larger enclosure and one is in the showing enclosure. Since the wolves are in a confined space, I felt it would be safer to have one food trough in the showing enclosure. The food consists of a mixture of deer, hog, chicken, beef, and turkey. Ground-up pills of glucosamine (Arthritis & Stiffness), Vitamin C (Infection & Immune system), and fish oil (Skin & Coat problems) will be added as needed. Alfalfa and wheatgrass (Internal parasites), pumpkin (Digestion), and garlic (Internal/external parasites & Immune system) will also be added in as needed. The wolves will also have to work for food! Half of the food will be placed in the troughs. The other half will be put into a bag and dragged around the enclosure, where it will be emptied in different places that the wolves will have to find. Enrichment Ideas - Food frozen in ice cubes - Puzzle dog toy with treats inside - Boomer balls - Ground food into a paste and spread it on enclosure items - Hide hotdogs around the enclosure - Fly a drone around (I'm a little worried about this one because I'm worried that a wolf will catch and demolish it ) - Large kong toys - Pig ears - Animal hooves There will be a 5 by 5-foot sandbox that's a foot deep. It has squeaky toys and stuffed animals buried in it. There will also be a wolf playground of sorts! It has a Dog bridge ramp, a teeter-totter, a bar jump, a tunnel, some steps for the wolves to walk up and down, and something for the wolves to sit on.
The level of detail in this design is seriously impressive. Do you have a particular subspecies in mind for the exhibit?
I don't have a specific subspecies because I want to house rescued wolves. I'd call wolf sanctuaries and see if I could take any pure wolves off of their hands.
