Maned wolf fact sheet
Maned wolf reproductive science at the Zoo
The Secret WolfSpotlight on Vet Medicine
November 17, 2009
Maned Wolves and Bladder Stones
Walking into the National Zoo from Parking Lot A, one of the first enclosures visitors come upon is the maned wolf yard. However, they usually smell the wolves before they see them. Maned wolves have a strong, musky odor that makes many people look around for a skunk.
These striking animals have a beautiful red coat and long, slender legs—many people describe them as "foxes on stilts." However, the maned wolf is neither a true wolf nor a fox. It belongs to its own genus. Maned wolves aren't closely related to any other wild dog species. Their name comes from a thin black strip of hair that runs between their shoulders.
These nocturnal canids live in the savannas and marshlands of South America, eating everything from small rodents, reptiles, and birds to insects, eggs, and fruit. Maned wolves form monogamous pairs that live independent lives, coming together only to breed and rear their young.
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| X-rays reveal Di's bladder stones. |
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| A vet examines Di. |
At the National Zoo's Rock Creek campus and at the Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal, Virginia, veterinarians and researchers work together to conserve this threatened species. They regularly perform health assessments including blood work, urinalysis, and X-rays to prevent serious illnesses from developing.
These routine examinations have enabled veterinarians to determine that maned wolves are predisposed to developing a condition common in humans—they get bladder stones.
In 2008, maned wolf keepers at CRC noticed that when one of the female wolves would try to urinate nothing came out. The wolf, named Diamantina but nicknamed, as "Diamantina” is something of a mouthful, seemed to be very uncomfortable. The keepers called the veterinary staff and immediately took the wolf to the hospital for an examination.
A Zoo veterinarian X-rayed the wolf's abdomen, which revealed a large number of stones in her bladder―they were the cause of Di's discomfort. The veterinarian decided to remove the stone surgically to help Di feel better as soon as possible.
For the surgery, called a "cystotomy," the veterinarians anesthetized Di, and made an incision into her bladder to remove the stones directly.
After the surgery, Di woke up apparently feeling much better and able to urinate easily.
She also began receiving medication to decrease the chance that she would get bladder stones again.
Maned wolves have a genetic predisposition that causes some of them to release high levels of cysteine (an amino acid) into their urine, and sometimes they develop cysteine stones in their bladders. Some medications can help decrease the amount of stones that form in the bladder, and after her surgery, the vets treated Di with one of these medications. At a recheck exam a year and a half after surgery, she didn't have any stones in her bladder. The medication was working!
In November 2009, Di moved to the Zoo's Rock Creek campus, where she lives with a male maned wolf, Siete. The best times to see them are early in the morning and at dusk.
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| Di, in the renovated maned wolf yard she shares with Siete at the Zoo. |
Note to Media: If you would like more information about this project, or any of the Zoo's conservation and science programs, please contact the Zoo's Office of Public Affairs.
