Meet red wolf F1568, a.k.a. “Argo!”

The beautiful female arrived at the Wolf Conservation Center last month from Mill Mountain Zoo in Roanoke, VA. Beyond being beautiful, F1568 represents the WCC’s active participation in an effort to save a species from extinction. The WCC is one of 45 facilities in the U.S. participating in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) – a national initiative whose primary purpose is to support the reestablishment of red wolves in the wild through captive breeding, public education, and research.

Soon F1568 will join red wolf M1803 (“Moose”) and be given the opportunity to breed during the 2016-2017 season. The RWSSP management group determines which wolves should be bred each year by using software developed for the population management of endangered species. This is necessary because all red wolves descended from just 14 founders rescued from extinction. Genetic diversity is the primary consideration in the selection of red wolf breeding pairs and F1568 and M1803 are a great match on paper with an extremely low inbreeding coefficient. Hopefully the pair are a good match in real life too!

F1568, born on April 3, 2007, is the third red wolf from her litter to call the WCC home. Her brothers, M1565 and M1566, have since opened new chapters to their lives at other facilities participating in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan. Although we miss these boys, the WCC family is already head over heels over their darling sister.

Urgent: Please tell Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell that USFWS, the very agency charged by federal law with protecting endangered species, needs to recommit to red wolf recovery in the wild >> take action.