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http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/10/visitors_can_watch_as_the_oreg.html__________________________________________________
Typically when the Oregon Zoo invites the public to watch animals indulge in a treat it's along the lines of elephants slurping up peanut cakes. Not this weekend.
At 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, with visitors watching, keepers will present the three wolves with something more to their liking -- a carcass.
The treat and accompanying talk are offered as part of
National Wolf Awareness Week, an effort to "dispel misconceptions about wolves and educate people about wolves' important role in healthy ecosystems," keeper Michelle Schireman said in a news release.
Wolves, an endangered species, have not been reintroduced to Oregon. Rather, they've moved across the border from Idaho in recent years, a migration decried by some ranchers but cheered by conservationists because of the pivotal roles that large predators such as wolves play in nature.
Two groups, the Wenaha and Imnaha packs, now live in eastern Oregon.Rewards totaling $10,000 are being offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those responsible for illegally killing one of the Wenaha pack's wolves late last month in the
Umatilla National Forest.
The zoo, 4001 S.W. Canyon Rd., opens at 9 a.m. Admission ranges from $7.50 to $10.50, and is free for those 2 and younger.
-Katy Muldoon: katymuldoon@news.oregonian.com
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