GULF SHORES - It is with heavy hearts that the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo announces the death of Jake, the gray timber wolf.

“Great animal care results in animals that live longer lives, and we have had the privilege to care for Jake his entire life,” said Joel Hamilton, the zoo's Executive Director. “The loss of any animal in our care is always a challenge, and the loss of Jake is felt deeply by the entire care team and the community who watched Jake and his sisters grow up at the Zoo.”

Jake was 15 years old. He arrived at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo with his siblings, Jett and Luna, at just 6 days old from a conservation group in Florida. Jake is fondly remembered by the zookeeping team as being lovable and easy-going. Interacting with this incredible animal gave young keepers inspiration to pursue their careers, and he continued throughout his life to inspire keepers and visitors alike.

Keepers shared that Jake enjoyed training, and in his younger years, he could be found swimming in the exhibit pond with only his eyes above water in what looked like he was pretending to be an alligator.

Jake is preceded in death by his sisters Jett and Luna. Due to his age, Jake has been under close health monitoring for over a year. His condition worsened, and his quality of life became compromised, and the best course of action was to humanely say goodbye.

Timberwolves are a large canid species that live in many different regions of the world. The largest number of Timberwolves can be found in the northern region of their range in Canada and Russia.

Their average lifespan in the wild is 3-5 years of age. In human care, they can live on average up to 15 years old.

Timberwolves are often persecuted throughout their range due to conflict with humans over depredation on livestock and exaggerated concerns regarding direct threats to humans. Yellowstone National Park, however, has seen immense change due to the reintroduction of the gray wolves back
into the ecosystems. Wolves are causing a cascade of improved ecological changes, including helping to increase beaver populations and bringing back aspen and vegetation due to the wolves keeping the elk populations down within the park.