The red wolf is one of the most rare mammals in North America. About 100 red wolves roam their native habitat in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina and approximately 200 comprise the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) in facilities across the United States. As a participant of the RWSSP, the WCC is thrilled to be home to five red wolves including one breeding pair, F1291 and M1394. We are especially excited to be hosting red wolves that were selected to breed because there is a chance that some of their potential pups will be given the opportunity of a lifetime – a future in their ancestral home in the wilds of North Carolina! The Red Wolf Recovery Plan employs a pup fostering program to introduce captive red wolves into the wild. Adult captive red wolves are not candidates for release.

Captive-to-wild fostering is a coordinated effort by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Red Wolf Recovery Program, and the RWSSP. Fostering is a method which allows genetically valuable captive-born red wolf pups to become integrated into the wild red wolf population. The pup-fostering method has been extremely successful for nearly a decade, this video from the North Carolina Zoo depicts the first ever foster event from 2002!

Cada primavera, los biólogos de campo de lobos rojos en Carolina del Norte escuchan los gemidos y pío de los cachorros de lobo rojo salvajes mientras buscan madrigueras. Cuando los biólogos ubican las guaridas, cada cachorro se cuenta y se etiqueta y se recolectan muestras de sangre antes de que el cachorro se devuelva cuidadosamente. Algunas de estas guaridas servirán como hogar de acogida para cachorros de lobo rojo nacidos en cautiverio.

As soon as captive red wolves are born at the any of the participating RWSSP facilities, the host organization alerts the field biologists of their great news. If the captive born litter is robust and the date of births match those of wild red wolves, a couple of 7 to10-day-old pups (number of pups depends on the size of the litter) are removed from the litter and transferred to North Carolina. Ideally, each year a few captive born pups are blessed with this opportunity and are embraced by their wild foster parents. The pups then develop in the wild and thus gain survival skills required to mature and reproduce.

Yesterday, WCC Curator Rebecca Bose looked around F1291 and M1394’s habitat for clues of impending parenthood and was blown away by the pair’s architectural skills upon discovering an amazing den! We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the red wolf pair will be able to contribute to the wild red wolf population with some pups in the coming weeks!