Wolf Park welcomes its newest arrival, Echo! So, just who is Echo? She is a female wolf, 13 years of age, who was born at Wolf Park to Akili and Vega in 1992. There were just two pups in the litter, she and her brother Ulrich. When only a few weeks old, they went to live at a small facility in Lyndonville, New York, joining two female wolves, Keisha and Rachael, who were also born at Wolf Park the previous year. Then in 1998, this small facility closed. Fortunately for the wolves, a home was found for them at the nation's fifth oldest zoo, the Ross Park Zoo, in Binghamton, New York. They had a very spacious wooded enclosure there, but wolves don't live forever and eventually, she was the last remaining wolf of her pack. When her brother passed away in February, 2005, it left her all alone at the zoo. Shortly after this happened, we were contacted by Lois, the 'puppy mother' who raised these two pups in Lyndonville in 1992. She had been keeping in touch with the wolves after they went to the zoo. After lots of discussions, a few phone calls and some very generous donations -- and a lot of help, we were able to bring Echo home. We did not have to build an enclosure for her since the passing of Chani last year left us with an empty pen. The problem was getting an elderly wolf all the way back to the Park. We had our vet talk to their vet and discuss options for sedation. Finally a date was set, March 31, and so Gale and I drove out to New York to bring Echo home. Many years before, back when the wolves lived at the Institute for Environmental Learning in Lyndonville, I used to go visit them about once a year. This came in very useful, for when Echo would not cooperate and go into the holding pen, we were called on the radio for a plan 'B'. They had hoped that either Lois, or some food treats could entice Echo into the holding pen, but having seen her brother die in there just a month before, probably made her a bit suspicious... Well, plan 'B' turned out to not only be simpler, but far less stressful on Echo. I simply took the needle, and while she was greeting, I snuck the sedative into her without her doing more than a brief squeak between kisses. She quickly fell asleep, got weighed, about 76 pounds in case you are curious, got a thorough checkup, a manicure by Gale and then was loaded into the crate. We left the zoo at 8:00 AM and 13 1/2 hours later, we pulled into the Park. Echo was a perfect passenger. She took several hours to wake up and then just settled in for the long ride. She even eagerly took ice that we picked up along the way. Once out of the crate, she simply explored her new surrounds, sniffing and checking everything out. The following morning we went in with her and she eagerly greeted everybody, friend and stranger alike. Echo has quickly settled into her new home, is quite outgoing and so far has eagerly greeted everybody who visits her. She is definitely one of the most outgoing wolves we know. Perhaps it was because she was so well socialized at Lyndonville, perhaps too was the fact that nobody has been going in with her since the zoo went under new management last year. But regardless, Echo is definitely a friendly wolf, and a wolf in need of sponsors -- just in case you're curious ;-)