The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo announced Feb. 20 the death of Jett, a 13 year-old gray Timberwolf in a news release. The news came just one month after the passing of her sister, fellow gray Timberwolf Luna in January.

"Jett’s passing comes shortly after the loss of her sister a few months ago. Great animal care results in animals that live longer lives and we have had the privilege to care for Jett for 13 years.” said Joel Hamilton, executive director. “The loss of any animal in our care is always a challenge and the loss of Jett is felt deeply by the entire care team and the community who watched these three sibling wolves grow up at the zoo."

Per the release, Jett arrived at the zoo with her siblings Jake and Luna when they were just six years old, from a conservation group in Florida.

"Jett was always the protector of the pack, alert and watching out for her brother and sister. She loved being able to tear apart boxes for enrichment or take a dunk in her pond," the release said. "Jett enjoyed training with her keeper and voluntarily participated in her own vet care. It was through this training keepers were able to monitor her health closely. Unfortunately, a bone cancer mass on her jawbone and other conditions worsened and her quality of life became compromised, and the best course of action was to humanely say goodbye."

According to the release, Jett is survived by her brother Jake, who is also under close health watch by his animal care and veterinarian teams.

"Jake is continuing to receive special care and attention, such as increased socialization time with keepers and many enrichment activities throughout the day to promote activity and natural behaviors," the release said. "Timberwolves are a large canid species that live in many different regions of the world, the largest number of Timberwolves can be found in the northern region of their range in Canada and Russia. Their average lifespan in the wild is three to five years of age. In human care, they can live on average up to 15 years old."

Per the release, Timberwolves are often persecuted throughout their range due to conflict with humans over depredation on livestock and exaggerated concerns regarding direct threats to humans. However, the release states that Yellowstone National Park has seen an immense change due to the reintroduction of the gray wolves back into the ecosystems.

"Wolves are causing a cascade of improved ecological changes, including helping to increase beaver populations and bringing back aspen and vegetation due to the wolves keeping the elk populations down within the park," the release said.