Exciting news! Red Wolf Ginger has officially embarked on a new adventure at the North Carolina Zoo! 🐺

On Saturday, the great team at Pilots to the Rescue (PTTR) took to the skies with a very special passenger, Ginger, one of the Wolf Conservation Center’s critically endangered Red Wolves. With care, compassion, and expertise, the PTTR team transported Ginger safely to her new home, where she will play a vital role in the ongoing efforts to recover her imperiled species.

Pilots to the Rescue is a volunteer-based nonprofit aviation organization that donates flights to make a difference for animals in need, from shelter pets to endangered wildlife. Their work bridges compassion and conservation, helping animals like Ginger reach the next chapter in their lives safely and stress-free.

Ginger’s journey is part of the American Red Wolf Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program, a collaborative effort between zoos, wildlife agencies, and conservation organizations across the country to protect and recover the world’s most endangered wolf species. The SAFE program uses specialized software to determine which wolves should breed each year, ensuring the population remains as genetically healthy as possible. This is crucial because the Red Wolf captive breeding program began with just 14 founders.

Thanks to careful planning and cooperation among participating facilities, Ginger was found to be an excellent genetic match for a Red Wolf named Sentinel. Sentinel was born at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island in 2023, and his father was born at the Wolf Conservation Center in 2015. Sentinel is currently at the Akron Zoo and will soon be moving to the North Carolina Zoo to be paired with Ginger. Their pairing represents an exciting opportunity for the future of the species and a continuation of the WCC’s legacy within the Red Wolf recovery effort.

While we’re sad to see Ginger go, we’re excited about her future and are deeply grateful to Pilots to the Rescue for their commitment to helping animals in need and for making Ginger’s journey possible!