Storm helps wolves escape from Phoenix Zoo

A storm this week blew away more than leaves and dust at the Phoenix Zoo.

Gusts of nearly 60 mph Tuesday morning forced open enough of a gap on a locked metal gate for two endangered Mexican gray wolves to slip out of their pen for a couple of hours.

VIDEO: Mexican gray wolves escape for few hours

Park rangers realized that Sonora and Morella were missing about 7:15 a.m. and promptly issued a “code red” — only the second since the zoo opened in 1962. No one was hurt and the two wolves were back in their exhibit area by 9 a.m.

The zoo, which attracts more than 1 million visitors a year, had about 50 visitors on the premises at the time. Park rangers used golf carts to grab everyone and secure them in the closest closed facility, a gift shop.

Phoenix Zoo communications coordinator Lauren Booth said the visitors were not scared. Instead, a boa constrictor, a vulture and a coati that were being prepared for a morning show kept visitors well entertained.

Booth said the wind blew enough of a gap through an employee-only access gate behind the exhibit for the animals to get out. But the two female wolves, who’ve been at the zoo for the last six or seven years, didn’t wander too far.

“They were out of their comfort zone and frightened,” Booth said.

One of the wolves went back to her exhibit when the gate was opened. Park rangers netted and tranquilized the other one.

“They’re both doing fine now,” Booth said.

Phoenix Zoo participates in a re-introduction program with the help of the Arizona Game and Fish Department for Mexican gray wolves, listed as an endangered species in 1976. They look similar to coyotes and are usually about as big as a golden retriever. Through the program, these wolves are being raised and re-released into the wild, although there are no plans to re-release Sonora or Morella.

Booth said the exhibit is set up so that visitors see the wolves in the wild. Occasionally they come to the rim of the gate and usually they can be sighted in the early morning, when it’s cool.

The two grayish-brown wolves, weighing between 60 and 70 pounds, didn’t do anything out of the ordinary during their little outing.

“They’re well fed, so they weren’t searching for food or anything,” Booth said.

Terry Johnson, endangered species coordinator at the Game and Fish Department, said Mexican wolves can be dangerous. But they pose no significant risk to humans.

“It’s not the same level of risk as a tiger or a leopard,” he said.

He said the zoo had a good recapture plan and there was no risk to people.

“We have absolute respect for how the folks there handle their (animals),” he said.

The last time such an incident took place was in the mid-1990s, when a spectacled bear found his way out of his exhibit. As for the gate, it’s now been reinforced.

“This won’t happen again,” Booth said.