North Carolina Zoo Welcomes 12 More Critically Endangered Red Wolf Pups from 3 Litters

Twelve new members of the most endangered wolf species in the world have arrived at the North Carolina Zoo thanks to three litters of critically endangered red wolf pups.

Red Wolf Pups

The wolves are a part of the zoo's red wolf breeding program and were born over three days in late April, according to the zoo.

All newborn red wolf pups but their mothers are healthy and thriving, according to the zoo.

Three litters were born in one spring for the first time in the Zoo's breeding program.

The zoo intends to launch a public naming competition for one of the litter the following month.

The North Carolina Zoo stated that the zoo's breeding program now has 36 red wolves.

This means that it is the second-largest pack in the United States.

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington takes first place. CNN added that with the addition of the additional puppies, the zoo's breeding program now has 36 red wolves.

Breeding, Rewilding

These births are significant, according to Reid Wilson, secretary of North Carolina's Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, because many of our adult wolves have been sent to other breeding packs to continuously contribute to the recovery of this species from the brink of extinction.

Wilson believes that more red wolves can be released into the wild in the near future.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service claims that intense predator control efforts and habitat degradation caused the red wolf population in the United States to start declining and eventually go extinct by the early 20th century.

In the late 1960s, the agency started its conservation and recovery operations.

Critically Endangered Red Wolf

Red wolf populations, which were once widespread throughout the Eastern and South Central US, were wiped out by the early 20th century as a result of aggressive predator control efforts, habitat destruction, and other factors.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service began efforts to protect and rehabilitate the red wolf when it was originally listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1967.

Red wolves were only discovered in the wild in the late 1970s in coastal prairie and marsh habitats in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

The red wolf, however, could live in any habitat in the Southeast of the United States that is big enough and offers enough food, water, and cover.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, telemetry studies in eastern North Carolina show that red wolf home range requirements range from around 20 to 80 square miles, depending on the availability of prey.

The service now calculates that there may be 25 wolves in the wild and 278 in captivity.

According to the North Carolina Zoo, eastern North Carolina is home to all of the wild wolves.

Since 1994, the Zoo has taken part in the American Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Since the program's inception, the red wolf pack at the zoo has successfully produced 48 wolves.

The successful campaign to include the American red wolf in the Association of Zoo and Aquariums SAFE (Saving Species From Extinction) program was led by the North Carolina Zoo.

The Zoo takes the lead in this program's efforts to preserve the species, increase the number of wild animals, and care for domesticated animals.