Saint Louis Zoo fosters Red Wolf pups into North Carolina wilds

The Saint Louis Zoo and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) successfully fostered three zoo-born American Red Wolf pups into a wild litter in North Carolina.

The wolves were born at the Sears Lehmann, Jr. Wildlife Reserve, a 355-acre facility where wolves learn survival skills with minimal human contact. Staff members collected the pups when they were seven days old and transported them to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

Biologists then placed the pups in a wild den, where a mother wolf accepted the newcomers into her litter. Trail cameras later confirmed that the three pups remained alive and healthy as they began exploring outside the den. This fostering process aims to increase genetic diversity within a critically endangered population. Fewer than 40 American Red Wolves remain in the wild, primarily in northeastern North Carolina.

By introducing new genes, the program helps the population resist disease and reduces the risks of inbreeding. The timing of the move was critical, as wolf mothers typically bond with their young and accept new pups within the first 14 days of life. The effort relied on a partnership between the FWS and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) Program.

The SAFE program identifies zoo-born pups that can be moved during the narrow window of a wild litter's birth. Because the Saint Louis Zoo's litter was the only one born in professional care in North America, these three pups provided a rare opportunity to strengthen the species.