Four litters of endangered red wolf pups were born in the wild in North Carolina this year. Officials are saying 12 to 16 of them have survived their first few months.
Red wolves are one of the most endangered wolf species on the planet. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service says there are currently only 22 known red wolves living in the wild. They can be found in or around the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and Pocasin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Environmental officials say the pups are providing a “real hope for the future of red wolves” — which are native to North Carolina. The pups could nearly double the species’ current population.
Red wolves were hunted to near extinction in the 1970s, and then declared extinct in the wild by 1980. But recovery efforts began shortly after that declaration.
Vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for red wolves in the state. Since 2020, cars have killed eight.
The state’s budget allocates more than $10 million every two years to build wildlife crossings along major highways, including U.S. Route 64, which runs through the heart of red wolf habitat.