Earth Day was the perfect time for a North Carolina museum to announce it will be caring for a group of endangered animals born Monday.
A litter of six red wolf pups was born in the morning, according to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham.
The pups are the latest members of a pack of red wolves to be cared for by the museum, joining relatives born in each of the past three years, the museum said.
"I am so excited. These pups are the future for this imperiled species," said Sherry Samuels, the museum's Animal Department director. "There are fewer than 300 of these animals on the planet."
The pups are in good health and are being cared for in the Explore the Wild exhibit. The museum said the wolves might not be out in the exhibit for the next two weeks but might be spotted on its den cam.
"Wolf pups get people excited, and it gives us another opportunity to engage with people and have a dialogue about the importance of conservation and about endangered species in our own backyard," Samuels said.
Even once they go outside for extended periods, usually after they turn six weeks old, they still might be hard to spot because "red wolves are notoriously shy and can be quite reserved around crowds and loud noises," the museum said in a statement.
In 2018, the mother of this litter gave birth to three pups, two of which are now fully grown and remain at the museum. "It is going to be an amazing spring and summer at our wolf habitat," Samuels said. "Watching these new pups grow up and interact with their older brothers and parents will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
The State (Columbia, S.C.)
