(This ran in West Newsmagazine last month...from the TedTalks event held at Chaminade.)
A constant stream of howling emanated from the second row as soon as Regina Mossotti’s name was announced at the TEDxStLouis presentation on May 13. It was fitting, given that her talk was titled “Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
“Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen a movie or read a story with a big, bad wolf in it?” Mossotti, former Director of Animal Care and Conservation at the Endangered Wolf Center (EWC), asked the audience. She then shared how movies perpetuate a negative image of wolves, showing them as scary animals, snarling and often covered with blood. She said those images portray the wolf as something to be feared, and if we fear something, we don’t want to save it.
But Mossotti grew up seeing wolves and other wildlife in a far different light.
“I started to suspect, from a young age, that what I was hearing about wolves wasn’t right. See, I grew up in a part of Ballwin that, back then, had hundreds of acres of woods and farmland behind it. I played in the streams, climbed trees and went fishing with my dad,” she said. “I was always out exploring nature out in the woods with neighborhood kids every single day in the summer. After school, I’d come home, throw my backpack in the door and we’d be outside again.
“Being in the woods and observing gave me empathy for wildlife. I saw the world in a different lens and tended to fall in love with animals that others shied away from or lived in fear of … snakes, frogs, spiders, you name it …. The underdogs of the natural world.”
Mossotti vividly recalls a sixth grade assignment on future ambitions. While other students chose doctors, teachers, firefighters, ballerinas and astronauts, Mossotti brought her 5-foot-long pet black snake to school and spoke about becoming a herpetologist.
After graduating from Marquette High, Mossotti began her undergraduate studies at Webster University. Halfway through, she switched to Hawaii-Pacific University; then, headed to SIU-Carbondale for a Masters of Science in Zoology. After graduation, she started her Ph.D. at Oregon State University. When a position opened at the Endangered Wolf Center (EWC), Mossotti decided not to finish her Ph.D.
“I had been lucky enough to work there when I was younger as a keeper, and got to see how special that place is, as well as its impact on conservation for endangered species. It was during the recession, and nonprofits like the EWC were having a really hard time. I wanted to go back and help it grow, focus on its conservation efforts and really bring the community into that effort.”
In January 2011, Mossotti became the EWC’s director of Animal Care and Conservation. She helped its physical growth by managing construction of habitats for several different endangered species and growing its level of impact on the American red wolf and the Mexican wolf, two of the most endangered wolf species in the world.
“For me, the American red wolf is so important because it used to be native to Missouri. You often hear about other countries needing to protect their wildlife, but here in our own U.S. backyard, we have animals that are on the brink of extinction.”
Mossotti shared the story of one such wolf, a pup named Max who came to the EWC with his brothers and sisters at about two weeks old. The goal was to transfer the pups to the care of a mother wolf near the border of Arizona and New Mexico. A GPS collar worn by the mother led them to her exact location.
“As we approached, she took off,” Mossotti said. “Wolves are shy. They want nothing to do with people. They run away from us. Because of that, we needed to work quickly. Once we got there, we gave each of the pups a small microchip like your dogs or cats would get to keep track of them throughout their lives.”
Then, they gently placed Max and the rest of the pups into the den so the mom could come home and take care of them. Rubbing dirt and urine on all of the pups helped to ensure they all smelled the same and increased the likelihood that the mother would nurture them all.
About a year later, Mossotti said she was assisting in the annual wolf population survey. As she worked she checked the wolves for microchips and amazingly, she found Max.
“Here, lying in front of me is a full-grown, healthy and handsome wolf,” Mossotti told the audience. “The last time I had seen Max, he was the size of a large potato. (Now) he was thriving, and there was even a female with the little Casanova.”
She described finding Max as one of the most moving moments in her career.
“So many people had come together, working together to save an endangered species. They were making a difference, using what nature taught us .... Making sure that their children grew up to be safe, successful and secure, just like we do for our own kids. I want so badly to end the story here …,” she said. “… to leave you with the image of Max running free with his family.”
But sadly, a few months after seeing Max, she received news that he had been shot and killed. Someone saw him as something to be feared.
But there is hope, she said. Today, there’s close to 100 wolf pups in the wild from over 10 different zoos across the country. And about 20% of the wild wolf pack is now led by a foster or its offspring.
Mossotti said her favorite thing about wolves is observing their families together. They are very caring and nurturing, and wolves have similar family structures to humans. They teach skills to help their young protect themselves, work together, find food and raise their families. She noted that the strength of the pack is the wolf, but the strength of the wolf is the pack.
“If we can see them differently, it will empower us and give us that empathy to say, ‘I want to do something for these animals’ because they’re not big and scary like we see on TV,” she said. That idea doesn’t just apply to wolves but also to a lot of different wildlife.
“Being able to see how wildlife really is will help us to coexist with it,” she said.
This spring, Mossotti was appointed the first woman vice president of Animal Care at the Saint Louis Zoo. While she really loved the EWC, she said it was the right time to make the move.
One of the projects she is excited to help with is the Zoo’s newly announced 2.8-acre Henry A. Jubel Foundation Destination Discovery. Built on the footprint of the former Children’s Zoo, where dinosaurs now roam (their last day in the Zoo is Nov. 5), Destination Discovery will feature immersive experiences and educational spaces alongside a network of treehouses, a walk-through aviary, a climb-through Tasmanian Devil exhibit, underground cities, river otter flumes and so much more.
“It’s a big next step and I’m really excited to be able to help with that over the next several years,” Mossotti said. Destination Discovery is slated for opening in 2026.
“We had a children’s zoo that we will always remember, but this one is going to be so innovative,” she said. “I’m part of the core team helping to design and implement the design in terms of building the staff, the different animal collection that we’re going to have, working with our architect firm on making sure that the habitats are big and beautiful for our animals.”
Recalling those days roaming the woods near her Ballwin home, Mossotti had some advice for young and old alike.
“Just being out in nature really makes an impact. Going to zoos and seeing those animals, going to parks and hiking … whether it’s Forest Park or Elephant Rocks State Park … just getting out. We have so many beautiful places in our state. Getting that connection with nature and finding that empathy with wildlife … It makes a big impact,” she said. “Also, it grounds you and is good for your mental health.”
