Peggy Callahan ’84 followed her lifelong passion for wolf research and conservation to become an expert in wolf handling and a pioneer in helping save the endangered red and Mexican gray wolf species from extinction.
When Callahan was young, she wrote to a top wolf researcher for advice on how to pursue a similar career. After she graduated from Carleton as a biology major, the same researcher hired her as a wildlife technician to care for the colony of captive wolves at The Wolf Project, a federally funded research facility in Minnesota. Funding for The Wolf Project ended in 1991, slating its 40 wolves for euthanization. Callahan left graduate school, took a job as a zookeeper at the Minnesota Zoo, and within two years had raised enough money to save the wolves by reopening the facility as a nonprofit, the Wildlife Science Center (WSC).
The WSC is a key participant in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for the red wolf and Mexican gray wolf, providing safe housing for these animals. Under the WSC’s controlled conditions, researchers tested cryopreservation methods in order to create a gamete gene bank for the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf. The WSC’s careful management of large numbers of wolves facilitates rigorous but humane scientific studies.
Callahan is also uniquely experienced in wolf sedation. Her team developed what has become the standard cocktail for sedating wolves and pioneered the use of a delivery system that reduces injuries to the animals. Callahan shares her expertise with other wildlife professionals through hands-on training and advises researchers on safe wolf handling. The center prioritizes education and outreach through educational programs for the public, reaching tens of thousands of people each year. Today, Callahan is the executive director of the WSC. She and her husband live in Hinckley, Minnesota.