This Land, Your Land

The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is reporting that 41 puppies were born to 11 wild red wolf litters this spring, and that one male and three female pups from Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago were fostered into two wild litters in eastern North Carolina. Twenty-four pups have been fostered into wild packs in northeastern North Carolina over 10 years.

In another facet of the Red Wolf Recovery Program, red wolves are bred on islands, such as St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge in Apalachicola, Florida, and brought to Alligator River. An adult female and four yearling males from St. Vincent have been released in eastern North Carolina this year.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared red wolves extinct in the wild in 1980. But by 1987, enough red wolves were bred in captivity to begin a restoration program at Alligator River. Today, more than 100 red wolves roam their native habitats in five northeastern North Carolina counties, including three national wildlife refuges, a Department of Defense bombing range, state-owned lands and private property spanning a total of 1.5 million acres.

Below, biologist Michael Morse examines a male pup to be fostered into a pack south of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. (Lincoln Park Zoo photo)