If you’re feeling a bit anxious or antsy after spending several weeks in lockdown, this piece of news from the North Carolina Zoo should be enough to brighten your day.

On April 21, five critically-endangered American red wolf pups were born at the zoo. On May 8, the zoo announced that three males and two females were born.

“The pups and their mother are all healthy and doing well,” the zoo reported.

Mom Piglet and dad Jewell are both first-time parents to a litter which makes the birth of the pups extra special.

Only 15-20 red wolves remain in the wild, all of them in North Carolina, and according to the zoo, that makes them the most endangered canid in the world.

Now that five pups have been born, the zoo’s red wold breeding program has 25 wolves under its care. They are the second-largest pack in the United States.

“Congratulations to the North Carolina Zoo for playing an essential part toward helping this critically endangered species recover,” said Susi H. Hamilton, secretary of N.C. Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources. “It’s yet another example of the Zoo doing amazing work to conserve wildlife and wild places.”

The adorable pups were all named after plants that are found in North Carolina.

The three males got the names Oak after Appalachian Oak, Cedar after Red Cedar, and Sage after Azure Sage.

One of the females was named Lily after the state’s wildflower, Carolina Lily, while the other one was named Aster after Piedmont Aster.

The pups are being kept in a “quiet, non-public viewing area” where there is “minimal contact with staff and keepers.”

“This allows their mother to raise the pups with the least amount of stress in a natural habitat,” the zoo explained.

The North Carolina Zoo joined the American Red Wolf Recovery program in 1994. Since joining the program, the park has bred eleven pups over the last three years and 34 wolves in total.

Around 240 red wolves are present in various breeding programs across the entire United States.

 

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