Last Of Four Wolves To Escape Wildlife Science Center Found

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The last of four wolves to escape the Wildlife Science Center last week was found Friday morning.

The search began when the wolves escaped the sanctuary in Chisago County after they dug their way out of a fenced area of the property.

Staff at the site said they likely escaped to find a newborn puppy in their pack, who had recently been transported to be bottle-fed at the International Wildlife Center in Ely. They started to dig, and a downpour of rain caused the den to collapse, which created an opening in the fenced pen through which the wolves escaped.

The wolf caught on Friday, named Gigantor, had been surviving in the woods. The Wildlife Science Center said he got a dose of drugs to help him sleep off his wild week on the run.

"He got a spa treatment to clean him up and remove the billions of ticks he accumulated. When he wakes up, he will be reunited with his family," Animal Curator Roberta Ryan said in a Facebook post.

One of the wolves was put down after being hit by a car, and another is presumed to have been shot and killed. One was recovered, alive, last week.