More red wolves released into the wild! Check out the article!
"This collaborative effort is the first time since 1998 that adult American red wolves were released directly into the recovery area of Eastern North Carolina from managed care facilities and is the first time since 2014 that red wolf pups have been fostered into the wild from managed care facilities."
I'm sure many of you follow endangered species conservation efforts, and this one is particularly close to my heart (and home). The facility where I work is a part of the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan, and though it doesn't sound like big numbers, the wild numbers of red wolves had dropped significantly during a long legal foray regarding the continuation of the program. Only 10 were known to remain in the wild in February of this year. The fact that they have moved forward to not only fostering pups but to releasing adult wolves is a huge step, and an extremely hopeful one.
I've actually been through Alligator River, but of course, did not see any red wolves. I have seen them in the wild, though, one time! I was maybe seven or eight. The then experimental population had been released into Cades Cove in Tennessee (very near where I lived at the time), and my mother and I were visiting when one ran across the road. We only knew it for what it was because of the radio collar. We also heard them howling when we camped the night! Unfortunately, that population didn't do well, and North Carolina is the only place left for them in the wild.
It's great news to get this year, when we've had a rough spring with our own breeding pair. Our spirits needed some bolstering for sure. To be sure, the population at Alligator River is still far from secure and the disputes over land and livestock probably won't ever be entirely solved, but this is a step in the right direction at least.
Toy Animal Wiki 
Home Latest Topics 
