Yesterday, our female red wolf, studbook # 1227, had surgery to remove a mass from her chest. I am sure Marilyn will be posting about it later. We took a video as well that we’ll get it up soon. For those who follow us and our animals closely, I wanted you to know this happened and that the wolf is doing well. In the photo, Katy is on the left, and Dr. Staab-Carter is on the right (wolf is inRead more
Posts filed in: Wolves
Red Wolf “Birth” Update
No. Don’t get excited. No red wolf pups were born at the Museum this year, and with about one week left in birthing season we are not expecting any this year. We’ll hope for a better outcome next year, maybe even some fertility dances. All pups are born typically in April or May because red wolf females only go into estrus once a year, usually for a two week window sometime in February or March (also known as “cycling” orRead more
EnrichBits: Wolves
EnrichBits: A monthly look at animal enrichment Our red wolves, who are shy by nature, don’t tend to be real playful in front of large, loud groups. If you catch them one on one, towards the earlier part of the morning, you can see them moving around. Here, Keeper Katy caught them really moving. Their exhibit, designed with a lot of hilly topography and natural elements, challenges them as a wild landscape would, and is long enough side to sideRead more
Red Wolf Pup Photos
No, no pups at the Museum, although whelping season isn’t over and we are still waiting hopefully. We’ve got about another month to see if our wolves will deliver some little ones. The photos are from red wolves that were born at a holding facility in Manteo on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. These four pups (3 males and 1 female. In the “zoo” world this would be written 3.1) are living “next door” to our brother wolves thatRead more
The hazards of coyote night lighting
There are many struggles that face the wild red wolf population at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR). I have already mentioned gunshot mortality and domestic dog diseases as two of the main problems that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) must address on a regular basis. However, another pressing issue is the importation of coyotes for the practice of coyote hunting, which can threaten the red wolf population in more ways than one. One of the initialRead more
Spotlight: Will Waddell
This is Will Waddell. Will is an important person to me (and others too) because he is a big-guy in the world of red wolves. Will is based in Tacoma, Washington at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. He is the Red Wolf SSP Coordinator. Species Survival Plans (SSPs) are programs that take a particular species in peril (typically animals endangered or threatend in the wild) and manage the entire population as one group. Breeding and conservation tend to beRead more