notes on Canis lupus pallipes

breeding the Indian wolf

at Jaipur Zoo R. N. Y A D A V Curator, Jaipur Zoo, India

At Jaipur Zoo the Indian wolves Canis lupus pallipes are kept in an enclosure measuring 3.6 by 5.4 by 3 m high. It is walled on three sides; the fourth side is made of chain-link fencing. The enclosure does not have a roof. I t is floored with sand. Inside the enclosure there is a covered sleeping den. The wolves are each fed I kg of buffalo meat daily, in addition to bones.

The zoo’s pair of wolves arrived at the zoo in 1959 when they were both a year old. The first cubs were born on 27 November 1961 when the parents were about three years old. The litter consisted of two male and two female cubs. All survived to maturity and were later transferred to another zoo. The second litter was born on 4 January 1964 and consisted of three cubs (one male and two females). The male died of enteritis when it was four months and nine days old, but the females survived until maturity. The third litter was born on 26 November 1965 and consisted of five cubs (three males and two females). One female died at 79 months, but the remaining cubs survived to maturity. It was on this last occasion that observations on the breeding behaviour of the wolves were made for the first time. Data obtained are described below.

When the female was in oestrus she tried to present herself to the mafe, shaking her tail to and fro. The two animals ran quickly round the cage for 30 to 40 minutes. The running behaviour was repeated three or four times a day. The female would smell the places where the male had urinated; the male was also seen smelling the places where the female had urinated. The male was seen several times smelling the perineal area of the female and trying to lick it. The female came into oestrus only during one period of the pear (in September). Three receptive periods were observed during the month and the duration of each period during this time varied from five to seven days.

The wolves were observed mating on 5 September 1965 at 0830 hours. They copulated in the same way as domestic dogs. The male stood on his hind legs, resting his forelegs on the female’s back. During copulation the female walked about intermittently. Copula- tion was repeated three or four times a day, and each act of copulation lasted from 5 to 10

minutes. During copulation both animals’ mouths were wide open. As with the domestic dog, the wolves ‘tied’ during copulation and, about four or five minutes after penetration had been achieved, both animals turned in opposite directions, so that they were back-to- back. However, the tie was not as marked as in the domestic dog, for the wolves would immediately break apart if a human observer approached the cage.

There were no external signs of pregnancy. The only reliable indication that the female

I8 CANIDS AND FELIDS I N CAPTIVITY

was pregnant was that she refused to allow the male to mate with her after 19 September 1965. During the final stages of pregnancy the skin of the female’s belly appeared tightly stretched and very smooth. The belly was marked with stripes of faint yellowish-brown, which disappeared a month after the birth, Three or four days before birth occurred, the nipples were slightly erected but they were not very conspicuous.

The gestation period was 68 days, calculated from the last observed mating on 19 September 1965 until the date of birth on 26 November 1965.

The five cubs were dark brown at birth and their eyes, which were closed, opened on 4 December 1965, eight days after birth.

The young were born in a burrow dug by the parents inside the enclosure. The mother kept the young inside the burrow most of the time until they were two months old, though they would occasionally come out at night, either with the mother or alone. During the third month the pups started licking pieces of mutton placed inside the enclosure for the mother, but they continued to be suckled. When they were four months old they were completely weaned and fed on minced meat and pieces of meat.

The male did not take any part in rearing the pups: his attitude seemed to be one of indifference.

mixed exhibit for Polar bears and Arctic foxes Thalarctos maritimus and Alopex lagopus

at Omaha Zoo W A R R E N D. T H O M A S Director, Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha Zoological Society, Omaha, Nebraska, U S A

The Omaha Zoological Society has recently embarked upon building a large new zoo. As part of the new development a spacious, moated enclosure for Polar bears Thalarctos maritimus has been constructed. The enclosure is built into a hillside which means that the back of the enclosure, cut out of the hill, is more than 6 m high. It is made of reinforced concrete and is covered with naturalistic gunite. The floor of the enclosure is terraced with step-like slabs of concrete, upon which have been stacked a number of very large