Offspring in Schönbrunn wolf pack

Schönbrunn zoo's youngest inhabitants come timidly lumbering out of their underground den: on April 27th, young arctic wolves were born. They are now ready to leave the den from time to time for short excursions into the outside world. "Like in the wild, mother Inja raises her young in a burrow where they cannot be observed. Up to now, five young animals have been spotted outside the den. Only time will tell if they will all survive." explains the zoo's director, Dagmar Schratter.

Wolf cubs open their eyes only at about two weeks of age and start off completely helpless. Now curiosity is starting to get the better of them. But one still needs a lot of patience if one wants to watch the young animals alongside their careful mother. Unlike the adult animals, they still have brown fur. Schratter: "arctic wolves have white fur, which is very conspicuous in the zoo enclosure. In their native environment, the northern regions of North America, Greenland and the Arctic their colour blends in almost totally with the snowy landscape and is the ideal camouflage with which they are almost invisible to their prey."