ZooTampa's Rarest Animal Has Room To Roam In New Florida Wilds Habitat

TAMPA, FL — Florida's native endangered wildlife now have a place of their own at ZooTampa Lowry Park.

On Thursday, ZooTampa staff and patrons, along with Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers, cut the ribbon for the new habitat, The Florida Wilds, devoted to Florida's native species.

The Florida Wilds provides more room for these species while giving visitors a closer look at Florida's native black bears, owls, manatees, Florida panthers, red wolves, river otters, American bald eagles, sandhill cranes, flamingos, American alligators and skunks.

But the Florida Wilds is more than a spacious habitat for the animals.

It will play an integral role in the zoo's efforts to preserve Florida's endangered species, among them the rarest animal at ZooTampa, the red wolf.

The habitat will allow ZooTampa to expand its participation in the Association of Zoo and Aquarium's Species Survival Program for the critically endangered red wolf.

Historically, red wolves were found from Texas east to Florida and north to Pennsylvania in mountains, lowland forests and wetlands, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Trapped and killed to protect livestock and game, the red wolf was listed as extinct in the wild by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1980.

Before they were wiped out, the wildlife service captured 17 red wolves for breeding. In 1987, the wolves were reintroduced back into the wild at two national parks.

There are 30 red wolves now living in the wild at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina and a single breeding pair living at St. Vincent Island National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Florida.

Additionally, there are about 200 red wolves in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's captive breeding program.

In conjunction with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the wildlife service launched the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan to help increase the genetic diversity and population numbers of the species.

With that in mind, the wildlife service sent ZooTampa two female red wolves in the hopes they will mate with the male red wolf brothers — Yule, Redington and Connor — that already live at the zoo. The goal is to increase the population and reintroduce the red wolf back into Florida's wilds.

In the Florida Wilds habitat, visitors are able to glimpse the wolves sleeping in their den or howling in sync.

While most of the animals at ZooTampa get training and enrichment activities, the red wolves have very minimal human interaction. That's because their animal caretakers want to keep them as close to their wild roots as possible for their eventual reintroduction into their native habitat.

The red wolf isn't the only animal the zoo is working to save.

Due to red tide poisoning, starvation from the loss of the manatee's main food source, seagrass, and boat strikes, the FWC recorded a record 1,101 manatee deaths in 2021, compared to 637 in 2020.

Just two months into 2022, the FWC has already reported 375 manatee deaths.

With situation reaching a crisis, ZooTampa’s David A. Straz Jr. Manateae Critical Care Center, already the second-largest critical care facility for manatees in the United States, is expanding its center this year to accommodate more manatees including adding a nursery pool for baby manatees.

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Since opening in the early 1990s, the manatee care center has nursed 500 manatees back to health.

Another focus of the expansion is the Florida panther. A subspecies of Cougar, there are less than 200 Florida panthers in the wild.

The zoo currently has three resident Florida panthers.

Lucy was found by FWC biologists as a tiny kitten with a severe head injury. Due to being hand-reared by people, Lucy has no fear of humans, and it was determined she might be a danger to herself and the public if she was released back into the wild.

Walter was brought to the zoo after he was found in Highlands County with his left foot caught in a snare, which ultimately caused the loss of his front paw.

Micanopy came to ZooTampa after he was removed twice from residential areas where he was preying on pets. The Interagency Florida Panther Response Team, made up of members of the FWC, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, decided that his behavior was a public safety concern, and he should be removed from the wild.

The new Florida Wilds exhibit not only gives the panthers more room to roam but visitors can now get unobstructed views of the endangered cats.

In addition to caring for the zoo's three resident panthers, ZooTampa has been designated the No. 1 panther rescue facility in the state by the FWC. As such, the zoo regularly cares for panthers that have been hit by cars, orphaned or stricken ill with a rare genetic disease that biologists are still studying.

"The reason that we’re here is not just to have animals in zoos," said ZooTampa CEO Joe Couceiro. "We’re here to protect and preserve wildlife."

“Our achievements over the past 12 months embody the mission that drives everything we do at the zoo,” said Tiffany Burns, the zoo’s director of conservation, research and behavior. “Our plans for 2022 are equally ambitious and will deepen the zoo’s positive impact on wildlife around the world.”

She said the Florida Wilds also gives the zoo an opportunity to educate guests on environmental conservation.

The area has interpretative signage, including rookery towers, that provide tips for Floridians on how to safely live alongside the many species that share the state's diverse ecosystem. Daily chats with animal experts also take place in the new area.

The Florida Wilds encompass the:

• David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center
• Florida Boardwalk
• Manatee Mangrove
• Key West Deck
• Saunders Conservation Theater
• Bald Eagle Overlook Gift Shop

Although ZooTampa receives county, state and federal grants, including money from Hillsborough County to help build the Florida Wilds, the nonprofit zoo depends mostly on private donations.

Click here to donate.