A new leader of the pack has raised hopes for a new family of cubs at Longleat Safari Park.

Terry, a six-year-old European wolf has already met the existing pack at Longleat and has managed to bond with his potential mate Meg. 

Wiltshire Times: Meg and Terry at Longleat Wildlife ParkMeg and Terry at Longleat Wildlife Park (Image: Tom Anders)

Lead keeper Kayleigh Smith said: “We are so excited to have Terry join Meg in Wolf Wood. He has a funny little character, and immediately bonded with her when they were first introduced.

“He has a lovely relationship with his keepers and has settled into his new routine perfectly. He’s doing all the right things for him and Meg to hopefully have a family in the near future. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the pair.”

There are two wolf packs at Longleat, but all are related and so are non-breeding groups.

Visual barriers have been put in place, to give Meg and Terry a little privacy in the drive-past enclosure and the idea is that Meg and Terry will create their own pack but currently, the park is being led by the wolf’s own behaviour.

Wolves live in a highly complex social structure, and each individual has particular personality traits which lend well to working together as a pack.

In the wild, the pack depends on this close cooperation for survival, both in hunting and in raising offspring.

Wolves used to live in the wild across much of Europe and have been extinct in the UK for more than 200 years. it is anticipated that a population of around 12,000 wild wolves exist in Europe with packs in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

Packs have also been reported in the Netherlands and Belgium.