Happy Retirement Plans for the Pack

The Minnesota Zoo’s gray wolf pack is retiring to enjoy their senior years. In October 2025, the three wolves will move from the Medtronic Minnesota Trail to a new habitat behind the scenes. Their retirement comes 11 years after their dramatic rescue as pups during a major wildland fire in Alaska and having made an impact on the millions of Minnesota Zoo guests who met them.

The outdoor retirement habitat provides the three wolves with a quiet, natural environment in a non-public part of the Zoo grounds. It provides ample space for them to continue running “zoomies” and exhibit all the social behaviors of a wolf pack – chasing, jumping, and play-bowing. During their retirement, they will not be viewable by guests.

Gray wolf siblings “Huslia” (affectionately known as Lia), “Hooper,” “and “X-Ray” were among five pups orphaned in May 2014, as the Funny River Fire spread across the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Wildland firefighters rescued them after the pups’ mother did not return to the den to provide care for several days. The wolves and their brothers Gannett and Stebbins, who have since died, were named for the firefighters’ hometowns and the fire crew.

Once rescued, the pups were brought to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage where they were treated for porcupine quill injuries and bottle-fed. Because the Alaska Zoo already had a permanent wolf pack without room for the pups, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game sought a new home for them. They selected the Minnesota Zoo based on a strong history of collaboration that included placing three orphaned brown bears here in 2008.

The packmates serve as powerful ambassadors for their species — an animal that is often misunderstood or feared. Following near extinction due to predator eradication and habitat loss, gray wolf populations are recovering in Minnesota, where they are a federally protected threatened species. Gray wolves are classified as endangered throughout almost all other parts of their range in the United States.

Beginning with their arrival as 8-week-old pups and continuing as they matured into healthy adults, the Minnesota Zoo has provided the wolves with expert care. We’re pleased to offer them a retirement space that will support their health, wellbeing, and strong social bonds.

Lia, Hooper, and X-Ray’s retirement is not the end for gray wolves on the Minnesota Trail. An exciting new chapter begins in November 2025 as a pack of young gray wolves moves into the habitat. Follow @mnzoo on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to the Zoo’s newsletter for updates on their debut, names, and details of these playful juveniles.

Visit the senior wolves Lia, Hooper, and X-Ray on the Minnesota Trail through October 21.

Lia loves attention from Zookeepers! Her full name is Huslia, which pays tribute to the hometown of one of the firefighters who rescued her. Huslia is a town of 300 people in the interior of Alaska.

Hooper is known as the most playful of the pack. By jumping and play-bowing at his siblings, he can usually get them to give chase.

X-Ray is named for the fire crew that rescued him and his siblings after they were orphaned during an Alaska wildfire in May 2014.

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