Good news!

Red wolf pups (Canis rufus) have been born in the wild for the first time in four years. The six pups were born in mid-April 2022 in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.

Red wolves are a separate species from the more well-known gray wolf (Canis lupus). They were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. Restoration attempts throughout the ensuing decades have been fraught. As of 2021 there were an estimated 15-17 in the wild (all in NC) and 241 captive wolves involved in the Species Survival Plan.

The odds may be stacked against the red wolf, but this litter brings a spark of hope all the same.

- For the first time in 4 years, a litter of red wolf pups was born in the wild | NPR (April 2022)
- New Year Brings Renewed Hope for America’s Red Wolf | FWS (Feb 2022)
- The Collapse of Wild Red Wolves Is a Warning That Should Worry Us All | The Nation (Aug 2021)
- Is the US Fish and Wildlife Service Slow-Walking Red Wolf Recovery? | Sierra Club (Oct 2020)