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Nena and Luna, the leggy, auburn-haired beauties of the Natural Science Center, are leaving town.

The sisters — a pair of female maned wolves — have been a popular attraction since their arrival at the center a year and a half ago. But Eury, the anteater that lives with them, won’t be alone for long. A new pair of maned wolves will be on exhibit sometime this fall. Their names aren’t yet known, but it’s hoped they will like each other enough to mate.

Nena and Luna will return to their birthplace, the Smithsonian’s Conservation Research Center in Front Royal, Va. Their time at the Natural Science Center showed that the AZA accredited institution could successfully house maned wolves. The Association of Zoos & Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan, which oversees a national breeding program to preserve endangered species, approved a pair of maned wolves to replace them.

An 18-month-old male maned wolf will arrive at the center Thursday. He will be ready to exhibit after a 30-day quarantine. An 8-month-old female maned wolf will arrive this fall from White Oak Conservation Center in Ulee, Fla.

Natural Science Center director Glenn Dobrogosz says it’s unlikely the new wolves will mate this year. The advantage of receiving such a young pair is that they will adjust to their habitat, bond and mature sexually together.

The center, which received its AZA accreditation last year, is an approved breeding facility. Dobrogosz expects baby otters and gibbons by next year. Lesley, the center’s female gibbon, is trying very hard to seduce her mate, according to Dobrogosz: “She’s doing everything in her power ... including sitting on him, biting him and turning him around.”

Her suitor, Dempsey, seems oblivious to her advances so far, but Dobrogosz expects him to come around soon.

The center also received a 41/2-foot Nile crocodile on Tuesday. It was rescued from a Louisiana highway drainage ditch and is possibly a pet displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The female crocodile, to be called Katrina, will join Nila, another female croc already at the center. The search is now on for a mate for them.

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com