By hersam acorn
Mother’s Day came early for a critically endangered red wolf living at the Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) in Westchester county. Red wolf F1563 (aka Salty) gave birth to a litter of pups — each no larger than a potato — Sunday, May 3.
WCC curator Rebecca Bose conducted the initial health check this morning and all seven pups look healthy – six boys and one girl. These pups are not only adorable, they are a valuable contribution to the recovery of their rare and at-risk species.
Red wolves are among the world’s most endangered species; with just a few hundred animals in existence (and less than 100 in the wild), they are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “Critically Endangered.” Only one place on the planet are wild red wolf populations viable and secure – North Carolina.
But the state’s Wildlife Resources Commission has asked the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to terminate the entire red wolf recovery program in North Carolina which would inevitably result in the loss of the last wild population of red wolves and render the species “Extinct in the Wild” and set an extremely dangerous precedent that will negatively impact all endangered species.
The Wolf Conservation Center is an environmental education organization committed to conserving wolf populations in North America through science-based education programming and participation in the federal Species Survival Plans for the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf and red wolf. Through wolves the WCC teaches the broader message of conservation, ecological balance, and personal responsibility for improved human stewardship of our World. For more information, visit www.nywolf.org and follow on Facebook and Twitter.