There are now about 200 red wolves in AZA breeding facilities, and about 50 in North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

The red wolf, which once freely roamed the United States, had nearly become extinct by the late 1970s, according to the Akron zoo. The plan had been under review for several years by fish and wildlife services. This is the first time since 2014 red wolf pups were introduced into the Red Wolf Recovery Plan, Bell said. This birth and the subsequent cross-fostering is a major conservation win for a species that was once native to Ohio.” “The Akron Zoo is proud to be able to play a part in saving red wolves, in their native habitat and in zoos. “This is the definition of the Akron Zoo’s mission in action,” said zoo President and CEO Doug Piekarz in a release. The American Red Wolf SSP is one of 46 species programs the Akron Zoo participates in. The Akron Zoo is AZA accredited and is working with 40 other zoos to reestablish the red wolf population.

The SSP program coordinates the protection and care of threatened and endangered species in AZA zoos. The work is part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Workers will now be “hands off” until the end of the year when the pups get collars, which enables workers to monitor them, Bell said. The foster mom sensed humans had been nearby, so she moved her pups, including the four Akron-born pups, to a new location. Red Wolf Recovery Plan workers monitor the private den, Bell said. That means the pups were placed in the den of a different wolf mom who recently had pups. The pups are being “cross-fostered” in a den in their native habitat, Bell said. With fewer than 20 red wolves left in their natural habitat worldwide, four of the pups were moved last Saturday to the care of the Red Wolf Recovery Plan in North Carolina, a program led by the U.S.

Two Humboldt penguin chicks born this spring will join 16 other Humboldt penguins at the zoo, and are considered vulnerable to extinction.

The Akron-born pups were welcomed into the den of a foster wolf who recently had pups.

With fewer than 20 red wolves left in their natural habitat worldwide, four of the pups were moved to the care of the Red Wolf Recovery Plan in North Carolina.

The red wolf pups, considered the most endangered wolves in the world, are the first red wolf pups ever born in the Akron Zoo’s history.

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