Zoo celebrates birth of 4 nearly-extinct American red wolves at new wildlife reserve
ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) – Four American red wolf pups were born in the first breeding season at the Saint Louis Zoo’s new wildlife reserve.
The zoo said all four puppies looked healthy at their first checkups in late June.
A female pup named Otter was born on April 26 to parents Lava and Tyke.
The other three, named Molly, Finn and Obi, were born on May 4 to first-time parents Ladybird and Wilber.
The Sears Lehmann Jr. Wildlife Reserve opened in 2022 in Franklin County, about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis.
It is a 355-acre natural area with a mission to keep red wolves from going extinct. It is not open to the public.
The Saint Louis Zoo said there are only about 20 red wolves remaining in the wild today.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, red wolves were officially declared extinct in the wild in 1980. However, because of the efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which captured the remaining 14 wild Red Wolves and started a captive breeding program, the species became the first animal to be successfully reintroduced after being declared extinct in the wild.
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