Mexican Wolf Euthanized At Brookfield Zoo Due To Injuries Suffered When She Was Shot Before Being Rescued
BROOKFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- A Mexican wolf had to be euthanized recently at Brookfield Zoo, due to injuries she suffered when she was shot before being rescued.
The zoo made the decision this week to euthanize the 9-year-old female wolf, Sibi. Veterinary examinations and a CT scan revealed her front leg joint had deteriorated severely to the point where it could not be repaired surgically or managed with pain relievers, the zoo said.
Sibi was born in Mexico in 2012, and was later transferred to the Endangered Wolf Center in Missouri, where staff even then noticed she was limping, the zoo said. An exam found foreign particles in her wrist and several parts of her body – which turned out to be buckshot and could not be removed, the zoo said.
Sibi apparently had been shot before arriving at the Endangered Wolf Center, the zoo said.
"It is upsetting to think of an endangered wolf being illegally shot inside what was a protected area in Mexico, but this is the harsh reality wild wolves live with every day," Joan Daniels, curator for mammals for the Chicago Zoological Society, said in a news release. "Sibi did very well for most of her life, but it was apparent she was in discomfort recently and her ability to walk normally was declining."
Sibi produced four litters – two at the Endangered Wolf Center in Missouri, and two at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Sevilleta facility in New Mexico, the zoo said.
The American Zoological Association has now recommended allowing Vivilette – a 2-year-old female Mexican wolf at Brookfield Zoo – to breed with an 8-year-old male wolf named Amigo in 2022.
Vivilette suffered a fracture to her front leg as a puppy that could not be repaired with surgery, the zoo said. The source of the injury is not known.
Amigo, who was born at the New York Wolf Center, has successfully sired two litters at the Endangered Wolf Center, the zoo said.
