Puppy Love and Learning at the Trevor Zoo
Is there any cooler way to learn about population genetics than by studying a red wolf breeding program at your high school?
The Red wolves at Millbrook's Trevor Zoo are critically endangered (the highest risk category for wild animals), and students have focused on how people and institutions can work together to reverse this status. As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the zoo works in compliance with their Species Survival Plan(R) Program to help aid the species’ recovery. In fact, we have been associated with the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan since the 1990’s. With the wolves being at such high risk for extinction, finding compatible mates is crucial. Our two red wolves, Shiloh and Luna, were paired in 2010, and by 2012 they brought 6 pups into the world, effectively increasing the red wolf population in North America by 3% at that time!
Students in the Advanced Biology class, led by Ava Goodale ’01, recently studied this breeding program at the Trevor Zoo while working on projects about population genetics. After researching and observing the Red wolves, they broke into smaller groups and applied their findings from the wolf case study to other animal species at the zoo. Following their observations, they made family trees to look at kinship and other factors that would determine the best breeding pairs.
The Trevor Zoo is a one-of-a-kind living laboratory for our students, providing multi-disciplinary learning opportunities with a focus on animal behavior, biological diversity, and environmental stewardship.
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