1 wolf shot, another struck by car after wildlife center escape

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Wildlife Science Center, located near Stacy in northeastern Anoka County, says that two wolves are now dead after four escaped from their facilities last week. However, the center reports that one of the two remaining wolves has been found.

The escape happened after workers took away the sole newborn pup from the alpha female of the pack, named Iris. The move triggered four members of the pack to dig their ways out of the center’s enclosement last Thursday morning.

Officials reported the wolves do not know how to hunt or fend for themselves in the wild. They are not believed to be dangerous to humans, but they may target small pets.

The center updated that one of the escaped wolves was hit by a car, and later euthanized at the center. The center also confirmed reports that another wolf was fatally shot.

“One of our wolves was shot the other night, a shy old man,” the center posted on social media. “One of the wolves was hit by a car and we euthanized him. It’s breaking our hearts into a million pieces.”

The wildlife center called the event “our living nightmare,” and answered to community members upset that they didn’t report the missing wolves sooner. They said they feared people responding with firearms, commenting that the fact that one of the wolves was subsequently shot brought their “worst fears” true.

Anyone who spots a wolf in the area is urged to stay away from it, and instead take a picture, write down the time and area it was seen, and call the center at 651-464-3993. The center urged people not to chase it, as it is exhausted and hungry and could dart onto the highway, and begged residents not to shoot it.

“They are family to us and we are spending every waking hour trying to bring them home,” they reported.

The Wildlife Science Center had an agreement with the International Wolf Center in Ely to take one of Iris’s pups as an animal ambassador, according to officials, since litters typically include several pups. Iris’s single-pup litter is considered unusual.

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