Cleveland Metroparks Zoo recently welcomed an Amur tiger and two Mexican grey wolves to the Zoo’s Wilderness Trek destination. The Zoo is also reminding guests that there are only three weeks remaining to experience
Wild Winter Lights presented by NOPEC. Guests can visit tigers and wolves as part of the limited-time holiday event that concludes January 5.
The four-year-old female tiger, Zoya, is from Odense Zoo in Denmark and is the first tiger to come to Cleveland Metroparks Zoo since Hector arrived in 2017. The addition is a significant one as Amur tigers are endangered in the wild with an estimated global population of only 500. In the coming weeks, Zoya will gradually be introduced to one of the four interconnected habitats in the Zoo’s Rosebrough Tiger Passage. The dynamic habitat is also home to male tigers, Hector and Klechka.
In addition to the tiger, Wilderness Trek welcomed another endangered species – two Mexican grey wolves. Both wolves, Meraki and Sarra, are females and were born from the same litter in 2018. They came to Cleveland from The Endangered Wolf Center which specializes in care for endangered wolf species and is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA).
The Mexican grey wolf species was eliminated across the United States by the 1970s but has been slowly recovering through partnerships like the Endangered Wolf Center and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s. There are currently over 100 Mexican grey wolves living around the New Mexico and Arizona border.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo now has a pack of five Mexican grey wolves with three males and the two new females. Wilderness Trek is home to many other cold-climate animals such as reindeer, snow and Amur leopards, sea lions, a harbor seal and several bear species.
The Wilderness Trek destination has been transformed as part of Wild Winter Lights, the Zoo’s first holiday event in 15 years. There are only three weekends remaining to experience the vibrant colors of more than one million lights across a dozen holiday-themed locations. For select dates, visit
FutureForWildlife.org/lights.
# # #