The six red wolf pups have begun exploring their exhibit at the Virginia Living Museum. The pups (three males, three females) were born April 26 at the museum.

Red wolves are one of the world’s most endangered wild canids.

This is the second litter for the museum’s adult red wolves. On April 28, each pup weighed about ¾ lb. (314-382 grams). On May 9, their weight ranged from 1½ to 2 lbs. Their eyes opened on May 10 and one of the pups began walking on May 13. At their six-week checkup on June 8, all of the pups weighed around 6 lbs.

The pups spent the first two months inside a nesting box in the red wolf enclosure, along with the mother. Now that they are on exhibit, both parents and their one-year-old sister are caring for the pups. For the first few weeks all of the wolves will be able to go back and forth between the building and the exhibit area.

“We are thrilled to have pups for the second year in a row,” said Curatorial Director George Mathews, Jr. “There are still less than 200 red wolves in the wild and less than 200 in captivity so every birth is important.”

“Our pups are all doing very well and are receiving great parental care. They have formed a pack already with their own personalities and behaviors,” Mathews said.

The wolf mother was born in Florida in May 2001 and acquired in January 2003 from the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, Conn. The father was born in May 2003 and acquired in November 2005 from the Alligator River Refuge in Manteo, N.C. Their first pup, a female, was born May 1, 2006 and is still at the museum.

Historically, red wolves ranged all over the southeastern United States. In 1973,the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched a captive breeding program to begin restoring the red wolf population and reintroducing the animals into the wild. Today about 200 red wolves roam 1.5-million acres around the Alligator River Refuge. The Virginia Living Museum is one of 38 zoos, nature centers and museums that participate in the federal captive breeding program to raise wolves for reintroduction into the wild.

The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Admission is $13 adults and $10 children (ages 3-12). For more information call 757-595-1900 or visit the web site at www.thevlm.org. Call 757-595-9135 for group reservations.

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