It’s International Women’s Day! So today we’ll be putting some of the Wolf Conservation Center’s powerful females in the spotlight.

Mexican gray wolf F613 was born on May 8, 1999 at the Rio Grande Zoo. She was transferred to a USFWS pre-release facility and there at the young age of three the loba welcomed her fist litter of pups. She was released into the wild of Arizona in 2005. Sadly, the young loba was placed back in captivity after the documentation of non-aggressive interactions with dogs in combination with her production of the hybrid litter. In 2007, F613 gave birth to a robust litter of 10 at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and joined the WCC family with mate and pups later that year.

 

The following year (2008), however, was a tough year for the loba. Although F613 was able to celebrate the birth of six pups on Earth Day, later that fall her mate and companion, M566, fell victim to kidney failure.

F613 is a strong wolf. For the past seven years the single mother has thrived. Although she F613 will be 16 years this spring, she continues to wear the “pants in the pack,” keeping her kids in check and having the honor of being first to eat when delivered their weekly road-killed deer.

 

Thank you, F613, for your contributions to your family and the recovery of your rare species. Learn more about the family here. Watch them via LIVE webcam here. ‪#‎InternationalWomensDay‬