09/06/2026
The love for each animal is vast, but some losses are harder than others. The incredibly unexpected passing of our wolf hybrid, Karma, is one of those.
Upon arrival each morning, a member of the animal care team walks the grounds to get a visual of every animal. It was a morning like any other until the caregiver walked around the wolf habitat. Karma was seen laying on her side, twitching. Backup was called, and within minutes, Karma was safely removed and transported to our on-site clinic for further evaluation. She was alive, but why was she laterally recumbent and unresponsive? Heat stroke? Seizures? An IV catheter was placed, fluids were started, blood work was drawn, and vitals were monitored.
Our RVT, Laura, arrived and quickly got to work. Karma was given an anti-convulsant medication, which immediately calmed her down. This confirmed she was having seizure activity. The next step was figuring out why. The animal care and veterinary teams played the game of 1000 questions. Was she given any new enrichment items? Perfumes? Seasonings? A new food? Had anyone found any wild animal carcasses in their habitat recently? The wolf habitat was picked apart piece by piece searching for anything that could give us answers. Nothing abnormal was found. It was perplexing. How could Karma behave completely normal yesterday and be unresponsive now?
Karma’s blood glucose tanked and was too low to read on the glucometer. The next mystery was determining whether she had low blood glucose from the seizures, or if she was having seizures because of the low blood glucose. For the next 15 hours, Karma had Laura and the Director of Animal Services, Jordan, by her side, rechecking her glucose, monitoring her vitals, administering medications and fluids, and fiercely advocating for a care plan, which involved relaying Karma’s case and getting advice from at least 5 different veterinarians. After many conversations, it was determined it was in Karma’s best interest to remain in our on-site clinic for supportive care.
It was now almost 11pm. Despite continuously receiving anti-convulsant medications, Karma continued having seizure activity. Then came the tough decision. Even if we could get her seizures to stop, would Karma ever be the same, or would her brain be permanently damaged? It was the most heart-shattering, agonizing decision, but it was also the kindest. Karma deserved to be at peace, and that’s what she received.
A full necropsy (animal autopsy) was performed and samples were sent to a laboratory. Results confirmed that she had pancreatic carcinoma (cancer of the pancreas). Since the pancreas produces insulin and helps regulate blood glucose, this made total sense.
Karma lived with our other wolf hybrid, Minco, who now lives by himself. Rest assured that our team is reaching out to other professionals, increasing enrichment, providing more hiding opportunities, and we will do anything within our control to continue giving Minco the best life possible. He has been doing well so far, and we’re committed to keeping it that way.
Karma was a beautiful girl inside and out, and she’s missed deeply by her friend Minco and all who cared for her. Please bear with us as we struggle with a shocking loss.
