In the summer of 1999 Karin was deposed and removed from the main pack to live with Apollo and Alyeska. This left Marion as the new alpha female. Marion is the daughter of Karin and Seneca, the alpha male. In the wild close inbreeding is very rare, however in captivity, it can and does occur fairly frequently. We also knew that without the presence of a strong alpha female, the likelihood of multiple litters in the pack was high. Since we did not want to see a litter between father and daughter we made the decision to take Marion in for a hysterectomy. We also realized that Maya had some possible health issues and being low ranking also faced being ousted from the pack if she conceived.

In September, 1999, the decision was made to take both Marion and Maya in to Dr. Harpers for surgery. The surgery went very well, there were no complications and we were able to reunite them a week later after their tummies had healed. Karin was also taken in to see Dr. Harper and she too had a smooth and easy operation.

Unlike the type of surgery a pet owner would usually have a vet preform on a dog or cat, we had Dr. Harper leave the females ovaries in. This was done for a very important reason. It is important for wolves to mate if they are to form and maintain strong bonds in the pack. Had the surgery not been done this way, we would have been left with un bonded alpha pairs in both the Main pack and the Pillow pack.

During the breeding season everything went as planned. Apollo mated several times with Karin and Seneca mated many times with Karin. Both pairs have become very tightly bonded and both make quite the couple. We also had some mating between Miska, the beta male and May, the lowest ranking female. Not being alphas there was no noticeable bonding between the two (who were severely reprimanded for their behavior by the rest of the pack). Erin also went into heat. She is the only female at Wolf Park who is in a position to have pups. She wanted to mate, but she wanted to mate with the wrong male. She wanted Miska. Miska wanted Maya and he wanted NOTHING to do with Erin. In fact, the only male in the pack who was very interested in Erin was her brother Tristan and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him!

This will be the first year since 1977 when the first litter was born at Wolf Park that no pups will be around in the spring, however we were not sure if good homes could be found for an entire litter so this is just as well and we certainly are not in a position to keep any so this has all turned out to be quite the blessing.

However, to see web pages of previous years' pups, check out the Puppy Pages!