Red Wolf litter!

Our facility participates in the AZA SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction--previously an SSP or Species Survival Plan) program for red wolves, so every year we have a breeding pair. For various reasons, though, we haven't had pups since 2012--until this year! Late last month we discovered mom had delivered NINE puppies!! Eight females and one male. Because they are a federally protected species and the population is managed by US Fish and Wildlife, there are strict protocols we have to follow, including no interference if any pups aren't thriving (no bottle feeding, etc.). So with a litter this large, all nine may or may not make it to adulthood--but hopefully we will have eleven wolves until some of them are sent to other facilities!

The US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that the total wild population is only 15-17 individuals. AZA’s Red Wolf SAFE program population (red wolves in human care) is 235. That's all the known red wolves in the world (smaller than the number in 2012 unfortunately). A wild litter of three males and two females was born during the second week of April 2023 at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeast North Carolina, the only place red wolves are currently found in the wild. A male pup from a recent litter at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington was fostered into this wild litter in late April.

I can only share the photos we have on social media for now, look at these little wriggling potatoes!! (That is not me in the photo, that's our vet!)

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Ooooohhhhh!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

It is great to hear that the effort is still underway, even though it may not be seeing great successes yet. I am also happy to hear that the one pup was successfully fostered into a wild family. From the numbers I have seen with Mexican gray wolves, this method may be the best chance they have at diversifying genetics in the wild! Great work guys!

That's so cool!

Thanks guys! We are super pumped!!

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Ooooohhhhh!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

It is great to hear that the effort is still underway, even though it may not be seeing great successes yet. I am also happy to hear that the one pup was successfully fostered into a wild family. From the numbers I have seen with Mexican gray wolves, this method may be the best chance they have at diversifying genetics in the wild! Great work guys!

It's been a long time since foster puppies were added to wild litters, but they've been doing it again over the last few years. Off the record, the red wolves have been . . . less than perfectly managed as a wild population, and the decrease in numbers reflects it (it's a complex issue, of course, and blame cannot be squarely pointed anywhere). But things are changing--hopefully not too little too late. A species that only had 14 to begin with didn't need another bottleneck. I still hold out hope for these guys, even if we see them go "extinct from the wild" again before really figuring out this complex puzzle.

Oh for sure Jill, this species has the odds stacked against it in every way imaginable (landscape, politics, resources, public opinion, to just name a few). I hope that it can continue though... any conservation aid they can get is worth it. Looking at numbers for Mexican wolf foster pups, that method seems to work really well for that species. But of course that doesn't mean a 100% success for all when applied to other groups.

I am curious though... I imagine there is some genetic testing going on to keep track of the relatedness of individuals. Are any of the red wolves there hybrids with coyotes? There is a mixed pack down around Galveston TX (?), and while they are doing relstively well, they wouldn't be good candidates for this program because of the prevalence of coyote genes in them. I was just curious if your North Carolina pack has been able to maintain its genetic code without hybridizing.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

I am curious though... I imagine there is some genetic testing going on to keep track of the relatedness of individuals. Are any of the red wolves there hybrids with coyotes? There is a mixed pack down around Galveston TX (?), and while they are doing relstively well, they wouldn't be good candidates for this program because of the prevalence of coyote genes in them. I was just curious if your North Carolina pack has been able to maintain its genetic code without hybridizing.

All the red wolves in the SAFE program (including the wild ones) are descendants from the 14 that tested 100% pure back in the 80's (they collected I think close to 30, and the rest were hybridized  otherwise not fit for breeding). In 2016 when I attended the (then) SSP meeting, the genetic diversity percentage was still 86% which is amazing considering that bottleneck. I don't know where it stands today. There hasn't been any record or evidence of coyote/wolf hybridizing in the Alligator River at this point. I don't know if actual genetic testing is still being down or not, however.

We were just talking about that Texas pack today and wondering what ever became of them, since they were no viable for inclusion in the program.

I should also add: I don't know exactly how they determined the purity of those red wolves in the 80s, since genetic testing was not what it is today. So I guess there's a chance there's some coyote DNA mixed into all of these, but I have never heard any suggestion that anyone thinks that's the case.

I see, I just haven't refamiliarized my info with this specific program in some years, I really should sit down and read up on them again. Thank you for the info! As for your addendum, even if there is a small % of coyote in these, given the rarity of these animals I would say you could still breed them and have animals more "wolf" than coyote. Beggars can't be too choosy...

From what I can remember, the galveston wolf hybrids were headliners because they had 30% wolf dna of the ones tested... possibly indicating still living pure wolf relatives around. However, I don't think anyone found any actual red wolves, only the hyrbids when surveyed. So, in the end the population was deemed unusable for the program you are involved in.

This is another case for the modern technology and projects we were discussing in another thread.

I didn't know red wolves were so rare. Great to see so many additions I hope they all survive; I am surprised you can't help such a threatened animal if they don't otherwise survive. And another thing I didn't know is that wolves can hybridize with coyotes.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

I see, I just haven't refamiliarized my info with this specific program in some years, I really should sit down and read up on them again. Thank you for the info!

I'm sure you know that real concrete information about what's really happening is hard to get to because of all the government bureaucracy.

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From what I can remember, the galveston wolf hybrids were headliners because they had 30% wolf dna of the ones tested... possibly indicating still living pure wolf relatives around. However, I don't think anyone found any actual red wolves, only the hyrbids when surveyed. So, in the end the population was deemed unusable for the program you are involved in.

That's interesting, it's shame they didn't find any! It's cool that they are doing well regardless.

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This is another case for the modern technology and projects we were discussing in another thread.

Yeah! I'd love to see some of this energy focused on things like red wolves, but I guess if you're in it to make your money back, red wolves aren't the big ticket item a mammoth would be, ha.

rogerpgvg wrote:

I didn't know red wolves were so rare. Great to see so many additions I hope they all survive; I am surprised you can't help such a threatened animal if they don't otherwise survive. And another thing I didn't know is that wolves can hybridize with coyotes.

It has to do with keeping them as wild as possible, since adults and puppies alike are treated as potential releases. One of our adult males was released a couple years ago (though he has since been recaptured due to injury). You don't want a baby that's gotten used to people. I think there is also an element of natural selection being allowed to play out.

There was arguments for a long time (I guess they are still prevalent, I just haven't been paying as close attention) that red wolves were only gray wolf/coyote hybrids and not their own species. Genetically they are separate enough to be considered their own species, however, even if there was hybridization in their history. Personally, I don't hold to that theory . . . but coyote genes in the red wolf population was a big problem and one of the main reasons they ultimately decided to collect the last wild ones back in 1973 (I misspoke about the 80s, it was 1973-1980!)

Thank you for sharing pictures of these so precious pups!

Its wonderful to see some more Red Wolves in the world and that people are putting so much time and effort in keeping the species alive!
Roger-Wolves and coyotes are generally quite hostile towards each other and coyotes are generally kept in check by the presence of wolves.When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone the coyote population which had been very high was reduced.
Coyotes were originally Western North American animals but as wolves were exterminated they expanded their range and began to fill the niches left by wolves and when they met the odd remaining wolves they mated with them.Coyotes will also occasionally also mate with domestic dogs.The animal known as the Eastern Coyote has both dog and wolf genes in its make up and occasionally will pack together to hunt deer like wolves.All the canines in the genus Canis are in theory are able to hybridise with each other.

Very beautiful picture and very interesting discussion, I hope that the red wolf has a future and congratulations to all those who devote time and resources to this fight for survival.
It's funny, I just realized that I did not know this species before joining STS and dreaming about the large K&M.

I hope they all make it! precious little beings

Kikimalou wrote:

Very beautiful picture and very interesting discussion, I hope that the red wolf has a future and congratulations to all those who devote time and resources to this fight for survival.
It's funny, I just realized that I did not know this species before joining STS and dreaming about the large K&M.

I didn't realize that model existed, very cool!! I have the otter from the same set but have never seen the others, they're really neat.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], Wolves in the US have a very interesting history if you ever wish to read up on it. Taylor covered the highlights (coyotes don't normally hybridize with wolves given behavioral and niche differences. But with extirpation, particularly red, Eastern, and Midwest (before extinction) wolf varieties couldn't be choosy.) Today, these are rather dangerous hybrids. Coywolves are becoming more and more common and have even been able to infiltrate urban cities like New York's Central Park and Chicago! They often have more heft to them than normal coyotes, and a broader skull, but behave more like a coyote (usually solitary or only in a pair). Slowly the Eastern wolf is making a comeback, Canadian wolves are slowly moving down south, and reestablished packs in the northwest are dispersing too. The areas that still struggle the most are Southwest and Southeast. Mexican gray wolves haven't had a great time of it either, but the red wolves in particular have been dancing across the line of extinction for some years now.

Coyotes have only fairly recently moved into my area. I've seen a few of them, they are quite large and solidly built- not a whole devil of a lot smaller than my shepherd. They don't look like the photos of Western coyotes I've seen. I imagine by the time they made it this far they had a fair bit of dog and possibly some wolf in them.
I've only seen solitary ones.

pipsxlch wrote:

Coyotes have only fairly recently moved into my area. I've seen a few of them, they are quite large and solidly built- not a whole devil of a lot smaller than my shepherd. They don't look like the photos of Western coyotes I've seen. I imagine by the time they made it this far they had a fair bit of dog and possibly some wolf in them.
I've only seen solitary ones.

Obviously there's no way to know for sure, but if they're as big as Queenie then I would hazard a guess that they are hybrids. Coyotes are typically quite small. 50ish pounds AT MOST and that would be a big male... a typical weight would be 35-40 lbs... Buck is 45, but built more compact (I have always said he is a cinderblock on legs). My Sister's dog is taller and more lean, also about 45 lbs though... I would think that to stand the three next to each other, a coyote would be in between both for height and weight.

These guys aren't quite as big as Queenie, but I would hazard an honest 50lbs for a few. The one i thought was a shepherd mix until I got a better look at him, and wouldn't be surprised if he was more like 60lbs. This one was seen driving through a very unpopulated wild area miles from habitation. Not that that precludes dumping, but the face was coyoteish, the color, and a more square leggier build. I would tend to think this vanguard of expansion does have quite a bit of dog in it. They had to pass through a lot of well populated areas to get here.

Pupdate!

We just shared these photos from today. Three weeks old! Eyes are opening and exploration has started! They are still very wobbly and not going far, but it won't be long now until they're all over the place.

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Splendid pictures of these amazing and rare animals. 

oooh so beautiful! and precious!

Oh how lovely! Mama did a good job. Did they all make it? I count 7...

pipsxlch wrote:

Oh how lovely! Mama did a good job. Did they all make it? I count 7...

Sorry for the delay answering this question. I wasn't allowed to say anything until we'd officially publicized it! We lost one puppy, the runt did not survive, which was not wholly unexpected with such a large litter. The other eight, however, seem very healthy and are growing so fast! There are seven females and one male. Here are some five week and seven week updates. They are weaning now and starting to eat whole food, and they are very active and rambunctious. Vet exams are getting harder because they are fast and have very sharp teeth!

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