One week old

April 26, 2007, was a great day at the Virginia Living Museum, as a litter of six pups were born to the museum's red wolf couple. All six were on exhibit throughout the summer. In September 2007, the three female pups and their one-year-old sister were transferred to a holding area at the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. They will eventually be placed in zoos and nature centers around the country.

The three male pups, now fully grown, remain on exhibit on the museum's outdoor boardwalk along with their father. Their mother was transferred in December 2007 to the Salisbury Zoo in Maryland.

Red wolves are one of the world's most endangered members of the canine family (dogs, wolves, jackals, coyotes).

See Quicktime video of the pups on exhibit June 21 at eight weeks of age: video 1, video 2.

Three weeks old

The six pups (three males, three females) wee the second litter for the museum’s adult red wolves. Two days after their birth, each pup weighed about three-quarters of a pound (314-382 grams). On May 9, their

weight ranged from 1 ½ 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 were kept inside a nesting box in the red wolf enclosure, along with the mother for about two months. They joined the adult wolves on public exhibit in mid-June 2007.

Click here for a Quicktime video of the pups taken May 16 at three weeks of age.

Six weeks old

“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.”

“The museum's purpose is to connect people with nature and to conserve the environment. Helping conserve these very endangered animals is something very special we can do that others cannot. It’s a program that is integral to our mission,” said Executive Director Page Hayhurst.

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.

Eight weeks old

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 100 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.

13 weeks old