Rare Red Wolf Born in Captivity at LBL

Golden Pond, KY – Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area is pleased to announce the birth of a ¾ pound female red wolf on May 2nd,2014. The Woodlands Nature Station’s captive, endangered red wolves are the proud parents.

The new female pup is just now emerging from her den and stretching her legs followed by two very attentive and nervous parents. She will remain with her parents for at least 18 months and then be transferred to a zoo or nature center to start her own pack.

“As she gets older and braver, the little pup will become more visible. Right now she is still hard to see,” commented Darrin Samborski, facility manager for the Nature Station.

The Nature Station has been involved with the Red Wolf Recovery Program since 1991, in partnership with the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Seven out of forty captive breeding sites were selected to have puppies. The Nature Station was selected this year to preserve the genetic line of the male wolf, who has reached the age of 13. Red wolves usually do not live past 14 years of age.

Red wolves once dominated southern forests prior to European settlement. As farmsteads and agriculture changed the landscape, red wolves quickly disappeared from many parts of the South. There are no red wolves in the wild at Land Between The Lakes and there are no plans to re-introduce them.

“Coyotes and humans are direct competitors for resources with the shy red wolf. They can only exist in areas where both are low in population,” said lead naturalist, John Pollpeter.

Today, red wolves can only be found in a small, isolated population in the northeast portion of North Carolina.

For more information on red wolves and the Woodlands Nature Station, call 270.924.2299 or check out the website. To learn more about the Red Wolf Recovery Program, go to www.fws.gov/redwolf/index.html.

Follow Nature Station on Twitter @LBLNature.

Come Outside and Play at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, managed by the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Land Between The Lakes provides outdoor recreation, lake access, land management, and environmental education for the public to enjoy.

We encourage visitors to review the official website at www.landbetweenthelakes.us often for Calendar of Events, updates on programs and policies, safety information, maps, temporary trail and road closures, and more, or call 800-LBL-7077 or 270-924-2000.

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