The St. Louis Zoo recently announced the birth of four endangered American red wolf pups earlier this year in what is a first for the zoo.
The pups were born at the St. Louis Zoo Sears Lehmann Jr. Wildlife Reserve, which is located in Eureka, Missouri – about 20 miles southwest of the zoo's WildCare Park, according to a news release.
"Our goal is keeping this vital American species on the planet," Martha Fischer, general curator of St. Louis Zoo WildCare Park, which oversees the reserve, told Fox News Digital in an email.
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"The St. Louis Zoo and wildlife organizations across the country have joined together to grow the population of red wolves so that recovery in the wild remains possible," Fischer said.
The first pup, a female named Otter, was born on April 26, according to the zoo. Her parents, Lava, age 8, and Tyke, age 9, moved to Missouri in late 2023 from another wolf conservation center in New York.
The other three pups – two males named Finn and Obi and a female named Molly – were born on May 4.
The pups are "healthy and thriving," according to the zoo, and underwent their first checkups in late June.
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Their parents are Ladybird, age 3, and Wilber, age 8, and the three pups are their first offspring, the St. Louis Zoo said.
Mother Ladybird originated from another wolf conservation facility in Missouri, while father Wilber was brought to the St. Louis Zoo's wildlife reserve from Homossa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida, the zoo said.
This was the first breeding season for the American red wolf at the reserve, according to the zoo's news release.
"When you consider how few red wolves remain, each birth is an achievement," Sabarras George, director of the St. Louis Zoo WildCare Park, said in the July release.
"I am incredibly proud of the team who have worked for years to reach this milestone," he added.
The pups are "healthy and thriving," according to the zoo, and underwent their first checkups in late June.
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The American red wolf is the most endangered wolf species in the world, according to the St. Louis Zoo.
The animal is only found in the wild in North Carolina, the zoo said, and there are only slightly more than 300 red wolves left in the world.
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Of the remaining wolves, "about 20" live in the wild, the zoo said.
The other 290 red wolves "live in human care as of May 2024."
Including the four pups, 17 American red wolves live at the St. Louis Zoo Sears Lehmann Jr. Wildlife Reserve, according to the release.
The reserve is not open for visitors "to give the 17 resident red wolves privacy, allowing them to maintain natural behaviors and survival skills with limited human interaction."
The wolf pups will stay with their parents for "at least two years," according to the release.
After that, they may be sent to other wolf conservation centers to begin packs of their own, or they may be picked to be released into the wild, the release said.
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Since the late 1960s, there has been an effort to rebuild the American red wolf population, which was hovering near extinction, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website.
The American red wolf used to live in an area spanning from Texas to New York, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website said.
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In the early 1900s, a combination of "intensive predator control programs" as well as "the degradation and alteration of [their] habitat" resulted in the population shrinking rapidly, the website said.
"When the red wolf was first designated as a species that was threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1967, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated efforts to conserve and recover the species."
