Kayla, a 1-year-old wolverine, is the newest addition to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center employee Sarah Howard flew to New Jersey to get Kayla, and on Saturday morning brought her to Alaska, director Mike Miller said.
The Skanes Zoological Park in Hoor, Sweden, contacted AWCC about Kayla. "For some reason, they have some extra (wolverines), which is unheard of in North America," Miller said.
Kayla is a Eurasian wolverine, a subspecies distinct from the North American wolverine. She joins Kasper, a male wolverine who was brought to the center from Norway.
Like Kasper, Kayla will live in a custom-built enclosure that is attached to Miller's home on the conservation center property. The wolverines may be introduced to each other in the future.
On Saturday, Kayla was first brought to the Alaska Zoo, where she was sedated and Howard Golden, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist, and Alaska Zoo vet Riley Wilson equipped her with a radio collar, a precaution Miller took because "it would be disastrous" if Kayla escaped.
That scenario isn't beyond the realm of possibility: Kasper famously almost escaped from his crate at Newark International Airport during his journey to Alaska.
While Kasper hasn't yet escaped from his enclosure at the conservation center, you never know, Miller said.
"The more you read about it, the more you think they're going to get loose, because they're smarter than me," Miller said.
Kasper and Kayla are both out of the public view. A display facility will have to be built before the wolverines will be able to be viewed by the public.
So far, the conservation center isn't sure whether it will try to breed the wolverines, because the success rate has historically been low for North American wolverines, Miller said.