A Family Reunion for One of America’s Rarest Animals: Red Wolves Come Home to New York

It was a homecoming years in the making. Red wolves Caroline and Jacques, who once lived at the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York, returned home on October 13 — and they did not come back alone. Traveling with them were the newest members of their family: five six-month-old pups named Cane, Champ, Puck, Stormy and Whaler.

The family made the journey from the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina, with help from Pilots to the Rescue, whose volunteer pilots donated their time to give the wolves a safe, low-stress flight. At the same time, two of the Center’s residents, Sabine and Mac Tíre, made the reverse trip to North Carolina — a bittersweet exchange that is all part of a much bigger plan.

Fewer than 21 left in the wild

The red wolf is among the most endangered animals in North America. Fewer than 21 are known to remain in the wild, while about 295 live in captivity across nearly 40 conservation facilities in the United States. Moves like this one are carefully choreographed each year under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Plan and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SAFE program, matching animals between facilities to protect the species’ genetic future.

Every summer, biologists, veterinarians and wildlife specialists gather to review both the wild and captive populations and decide the year ahead. The result is stories like this one: a family settling into a familiar home, five pups growing up under expert care, and a species holding on — because people across state lines refused to let it go.

Source: EIN Presswire