Canadian Wolf Ventured Outside Its Enclosure at ZOO Ljubljana

Canadian Wolf Ventured Outside Its Enclosure at ZOO Ljubljana

At ZOO Ljubljana today, a female Canadian wolf briefly ventured outside her enclosure.

We have kept Canadian wolves at ZOO Ljubljana since 2017. The pack consists of 9 wolves — 3 females and 6 males.
This morning, a female wolf accidentally left the enclosure at ZOO Ljubljana after choosing the edge of the enclosure to dig a den. She inadvertently dug the ''den'' through to the outside, despite the concrete footing the fence stands on. Unable to find her way back, she began to explore. Wolves rely heavily on their sense of smell, and that is what led her around the zoo. She also came across a family of visitors who were not frightened by her.
ZOO Ljubljana’s professional services activated the safety protocol and escorted the few visitors into the nearest indoor areas.
The veterinary and keeper team sedated the wolf and returned her to the enclosure, bringing her short exploration of the zoo to an end.
No visitor or ZOO Ljubljana member of staff was ever directly at risk.
We regularly inspect our animal enclosures, including from a safety standpoint. Today’s event was rare and exceptional. We have reviewed all the circumstances to ensure her walk does not happen again by accident.
In Europe, and in Slovenia, wild and healthy wolves are not dangerous to humans. In the past 100 years there is no known case of a wolf attacking a human. This is also true for wolves living in the immediate vicinity of human settlements. These wolves are used to people but do not cause them any trouble.

End of release

Press contacts:

Acting Director Suzana Gajić, suzana.gajic@zoo.si
Head of Veterinary Services Pavel Kvapil, Pavel.kvapil@zoo.si
Curator Saša Purkart, sasa.purkart@zoo.si

Curator Špela Štrus, spela.strus@zoo.si