It all begins with you
I am excited and honored to share with you the Wolf Conservation Center’s 2024 Impact Report, with highlights from a year defined by meaningful progress and unwavering conviction. As you read through these pages, I invite you to see what sets us apart—not just in what we do, but in how and why we do it.
While many other organizations and sanctuaries also provide vital care for animals in need, the Center exists for an even larger purpose: to ensure that wolves always have a place in the wild. We are leading the way to help save the Mexican gray wolf and Red Wolf from extinction as active participants in federal species recovery programs.
However, we do not just want to see wolves survive in the wild. We want to create a world where wolves can thrive. We are dedicated to deepening our understanding of wolves’ critical role in our environment, and in preserving a healthy and balanced ecosystem that supports every living creature — including humans.
That is why we have robust education and outreach programs, online and in-person, that build understanding, bust myths, and inspire a love of wolves in people around the world. We have advanced groundbreaking research into the ecology of wolves and strategies for population recovery. And, at a moment when protections for wolves and other endangered species are being threatened, the Center is rallying advocates to speak up loudly and often in defense of wolves.
YOU — our incredible community — set us apart. Your passion and participation are inspiring, and this report is a testament to what your support makes possible. Every howl we hear, every pup born, every mind changed, it all begins with you.
Thank you for helping us build a future where endangered, essential wolves reclaim their place in the wild and strengthen the ecosystems we all call home.
Leila Howland Wetmore
2024 By the Numbers
These numbers reflect the collective power of our community, fighting to protect and restore endangered wolves. Here's what we achieved together in 2024:
- 18 wolves released into the wild from the Center since our founding 25 years ago.
- 18,036 participants attended our education programs on-site, offsite, and virtually.
- 8,823 donors supported wolf recovery, with 25,876 individual gifts.
- 969 monthly Wolf Pass supporters played an essential role in caring for the wolves who call the Center their home.
- 8,458 hours donated by volunteers to maintain the Center’s grounds, run education programs, fundraisers, and more.
- 26,000 hours of live wolf webcams connected global advocates to our mission & the wolves we protect.
- 81,936 messages were sent to elected & public officials to support endangered wolf recovery initiatives.
- 12 veterinary students from Long Island University’s Lewyt School of Veterinary Medicine trained on-site in wolf recovery and conservation services
HIGHLIGHT: WILD FOSTERS IN NEW MEXICO
For over two decades, the Wolf Conservation Center has been a critical partner in the federal Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program, participating in pup fosters and advocating for adult and family group releases.
In 2024, we were able to give five Mexican gray wolves the rare chance at a wild life! These five pups, born to Trumpet and Lighthawk, were flown from New York to New Mexico, where they were taken to a wild wolf den.
Captive-to-wild fostering can work because of how nurturing wolves are — wild parents readily accept these pups as their own.
In 2024, we saw this type of fostering succeed! Slides, a Mexican gray wolf pup born at the Center, was fostered into the wild in 2023. Last year, we received the great news from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that Slides is thriving!
He began making short journeys away from his pack — the Hail Canyon pack — early signs that he may soon disperse and start a family of his own. If he does, Slides will carry his genetics, and the hopes of the species, into a new generation.
On May 5, 2024, five of Mexican gray wolf Trumpet’s pups began an extraordinary journey — from health checks and transport at WCC to a new den in New Mexico’s wilderness. With help from Curator Rebecca Bose, Dr. Renee Bayha of Pound Ridge Veterinary Center, and LightHawk Conservation Flying, these foster pups were placed with a wild family at Milligan Gulch. If all goes well, they’ll grow up wild, raise pups of their own, and help secure the future of their endangered species.
Advancing On-Site Veterinary Care
The Wolf Conservation Center is privileged to care for 30+ endangered wolves on-site.
Last year, the generous support of our donors allowed us to purchase a state-of-the-art portable ultrasound machine that will advance and improve health diagnostics for every single wolf at the Center! Ultrasounds are not just critical for pregnant wolves — they help diagnose a range of medical issues.
The new equipment funded by donors has already played a critical role during a semen collection procedure. During this session, one wolf presented with potential urinary complications, which raised concerns about sediment or stones.
Thanks to the immediate availability of the ultrasound, the veterinary team was able to confirm that the bladder was normal, eliminating the need for additional anesthesia, off-site diagnostics, and further stress for the animal. Getting an ultrasound previously required offsite transport, which is stressful and disruptive for the wolves, and requires sedation. Thanks to the support of our incredible community, we can identify, diagnose, and treat potential health issues quickly and accurately, right on-site!
Leading the Way on Red Wolf Research
Researchers at our Integrative Ecology and Coexistence Lab (IECL) continue to lead the way in research, expanding our understanding of wolf ecology and strategies for population recovery.
In September 2024, during Red Wolf Week, the Center asked for help funding new GPS collars, and donors answered the call!
Thanks to donor support, the Center was able to purchase radio collars that are being used to conduct vital research into the behavior of endangered Red Wolves. There are approximately 16 known Red Wolves in the wild, 14 of which are GPS collared.
With these new GPS collars, our team can help protect Red Wolves from human-caused mortality, gain new insight into wolves’ breeding activities, den selection, survival rates, and how often they encounter humans. Thanks to donor support we can track the location and research the behavior of more wild Red Wolves, the most endangered wolf species in the world.
Rallying Wolf Advocates Across the Country
In 2024, 81,936 messages were sent to elected officials and government agencies by wolf advocates on a variety of issues, including calls for expanding the range and release efforts for Mexican gray wolves, requests to Congress to maintain and expand protections for wolves, and calls-to-action at the state level to prevent unjust culling of predators.
>> When legislation was introduced to the U.S. Congress that sought to remove gray wolves from the federal endangered species list, the Center’s community rallied to urge their legislators to vote NO on this antiscience, anti-wolf bill. The bill did pass the House of Representatives but was never taken up in the Senate — a victory for wolves.
>> In February 2024, 8,286 people called on Wyoming legislators to ban the use of snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles to chase and kill wolves, in response to the torture and killing of a young female wolf. In response to the public outrage, Wyoming convened a Treatment of Predators Working Group and ethically-minded legislators suggested a bill that would have banned the use of motorized vehicles to kill predators.
>> In New York, representatives from the Center met with legislators in Albany to secure more support and action for a bill that would allow for DNA collection and expanded understanding of the canid population in the state.
Our continued actions served as a reminder that the fight for a better world for wolves isn’t an easy one, and we won’t achieve victory overnight. Steady, sustained mobilization and advocacy in support of wolves will eventually create a world where wolves thrive — we just need to continue working together