Let out your squeals of joy! The North Carolina Zoo welcomed its second litter of American red wolf pups in 2020.
The two pups were born on May 4 to parents Taylor and Solo as part of the facility’s American red wolf breeding program. This is the second litter of the endangered animal that the zoo has welcomed this year. It is the first time that two litters have been born in one season as part of the zoo’s breeding program.
The first litter of five puppies was born on April 21st. All seven new arrivals are healthy and doing well.
The youngest pups, Arrow and May, were named in honor of former North Carolina zookeeper Jessi Culbertson, 32, who worked with the red wolves for several years before passing away in 2019 after a brave battle with cancer. Arrow is named after Culbertson’s Native American Cherokee ancestry and May is named after the birth month of Culbertson and the pups.
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Arrow and May are growing the North Carolina Zoo’s red wolf pack to 27 wolves. For now, the pups are not part of the larger group. They are kept in a quiet, private area of the zoo and have minimal contact with staff and keepers so the newborns have time and space to bond with their mother.
Courtesy of North Carolina Zoo
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Every American red wolf birth is a cause for celebration, as according to the zoo, there are only 15 to 20 American red wolves left in the wild, and all of them live in eastern North Carolina.
“It is truly a testament to the dedication, teamwork and passion of the staff in helping one of the most endangered canids in the world,” said Susi H. Hamilton, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, of the zoo’s new litters.
American red wolves, once widespread in the southeastern United States, were threatened with extinction in the 1960s. Thanks to aggressive conservation efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and zoos across the country, the American red wolf population is growing in the wild and in captivity.
