New Pups, New Hope for North Carolina’s Red Wolves

If you know me or have been reading my Nature Journal for a while, you probably know I have a soft spot for the critically endangered Red Wolf. They are beautiful, a little mysterious, and one of North Carolina’s most inspiring wildlife stories. Seeing them in the wild is an experience I’ll never forget. And this year brought some great news.

Four litters of Red Wolf pups were born in the wild this spring, thanks to conservation efforts by the Red Wolf Recovery team at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and numerous partners. A total of 23 pups were born, with several pups cross-fostered. This summer, biologists estimated 12 to 16 of the pups are still alive. Unfortunately, wild pup losses are common, with a 50% survival rate.

While this may not sound like a huge number of pups, for Red Wolves, it’s a big deal. As of July, there were only about 23 to 24 adult and young adult Red Wolves living in the wild, in addition to the pups. And every single wild Red Wolf on Earth lives in North Carolina.

So back to cross-fostering. What is it? It’s a pretty amazing tool used to help wolves improve their genetics. Days-old pups born in human care, in this case at the Saint Louis Zoo, were flown to eastern North Carolina and placed into a wild Red Wolf den with pups about the same age. At the same time, pups from the wild mom were removed, flown back to the zoo, and placed in the original wolf’s den.

Both moms accepted the new pups and are raising them as their own. This adds new genes to both the wild population and the 50 zoos and breeding facilities, where about 250 Red Wolves live in human care.

You can see Red Wolves at many facilities near Western North Carolina, one of the closest being the WNC Nature Center in Asheville. I first saw a Red Wolf pup at the North Carolina Zoo and fell in love on the spot, sorta like when I met Dale, but I digress.

And here’s something I love about my favorite animal. They’re the Southeast’s only native wolf, and they once lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina and all over the region. And even though Red Wolves have never harmed a human being, they were eventually hunted to extinction in the wild. Today, there’s a lot of work being done to bring them back.

But why bring them back? Well, they help keep deer herds and small mammal populations healthy and in check. And they keep coyotes out of their territories.

Plus, they are very shy of humans, usually mate for life and are great parents. Families work together to raise their young, and older siblings may help care for new pups until they leave to start their own families.

And here’s a cool fact. Pups can start howling when they are only three weeks old. Just imagine a tiny howl coming from a baby wolf! And remember, they have never been known to hurt a person.

Unfortunately, the biggest threat to Red Wolves is still us humans. Gunshot wounds (it’s illegal to kill one) and vehicle collisions are two of the biggest problems these animals face. Losing even one Red Wolf matters when the wild population is so small.

One of the best things we can do to help is spread the word that Red Wolves are an important part of our natural world. After all, this is our wolf. It once howled in North Carolina’s mountains, and it still runs wild in the eastern part of the state, the only place on Earth where this still happens. So if you ever visit North Carolina’s Outer Banks, stop at one of the national wildlife refuges along the way. You just might get a glimpse of a wolf in the wild!