Shelter Dog Becomes Friend For Orphaned Maned Wolf Pup

An orphaned maned wolf pup has found a new companion to help her grow up. That mentor and friend is a newly adopted shelter dog.

The Sedgwick County Zoo (SCZ) reached out to the Kansas Humane Society to help the pup named Amora. Recently, Layla, one of the zoo’s maned wolves, gave birth to Amora but then unexpectedly passed away.

The zoo shared on Facebook, “Recently, we experienced both joy and heartbreak with the birth of a maned wolf pup. Maned wolves are naturally solitary, but young pups need companionship to develop properly. Without a mother or sibling, it is challenging for her to learn the natural behaviors she will need to thrive as a maned wolf.”

They continued, “To ensure she had the right companionship, we found a unique solution – we turned to the Kansas Humane Society to adopt a puppy. Slinky, a brindle mix, was taken in by the Kansas Humane Society on the very same day Amora was born, and adopted by the Zoo three weeks later.”

The Kansas Humane Society added “We had a young 3-month-old pup named Slinky who was feeling sad and alone after his sister had been adopted. He and his sister were actually taken in by KHS on the same day Amora was born! Lucky for him, we knew this would be the perfect pairing…”

The pair were carefully introduced, and things are going well.

They wrote, “[W]hile Amora has quite the spicy personality, Slinky’s playful nature is helping her grow into the wolf she is meant to be.”

Amora will eventually transition to live with other maned wolves, but for now, the dog and wolf will spend their days together.

When Amora moves in with the other wolves, Slinky will retire. Fortunately, he already has a forever home lined up with an SCZ employee who has fallen “head over heels in love with him.”