Welcome Ryan, our fall red wolf caretaker intern!

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Ryan!  He will be the red wolf caretaker intern at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for September through December 2014. 

Ryan was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, which is located just across the Mississippi River in the suburbs of Saint Louis, Missouri. He graduated in May 2013 from Southeast Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife/Conservation Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. After graduation, he worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation as a fisheries field biologist traveling statewide sampling various fish species and performing water quality surveys in streams and rivers. He also was an intern at The Wilds in Ohio, and participated in their Eastern Hellbender reintroduction program.  At The Wilds, he also assisted with herpetology and carnivore field and research work. Most recently, he has been interning at Pocosin Lakes NWR since April before joining us this month.

Ryan has always enjoyed being outside and seeing what nature has to offer. In his spare time he likes to hike, fish, camp, travel, attend sporting events (especially St. Louis Cardinals baseball), and spend time with family and friends. His goal is to become a wildlife biologist or zookeeper working with carnivores, fish, or herpetology. He hopes to eventually attend graduate school to get his M.Sc. degree and further a career in wildlife research and conservation. He is passionate about working with endangered and threatened species, especially carnivores.

We’re lucky to have Ryan as he brings a wonderful skill set of animal handling skills, knowledge of carnivore biology, and passion to protect and conserved imperiled species to this position. 

Welcome Ryan!

RWSSP of the month--Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

The Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) is the foundation of the Red Wolf Recovery Program. To let people know what’s happening throughout the program through, we are continuing to feature different RWSSP locations on the blog.  The RWSSP of the March is Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) in northeastern North Carolina.  The 154,000-acre refuge is located on the mainland portions of Dare and Hyde Counties, North Carolina. The offices for refuge staff, as well as members of the Red Wolf Recovery Program, are located in the Coastal NC National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center.

Photo by R. Nordsven/USFWS

Aerial view of ARNWR. Photo by Melissa McGaw.

In March 1984, a large parcel of land in Dare County was set aside to become the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. ARNWR is well recognized as the location of the initial restoration efforts for the Red Wolf Recovery Program.  In 1987—just three years after the refuge was established—four breeding pairs of red wolves were released onto the refuge.  As a sign of early success in the program, the first wild pups were born the following spring.  Additional releases (facilitated by successful captive breeding efforts), intensive monitoring, and the establishment of partnerships in the local community has allowed the restored population of red wolves to expand west from ARNWR to include approximately 110 wolves occurring over more than 6000 km² in the Red Wolf Recovery Area. The collaboration between ARNWR and the Red Wolf Recovery Program has served as a model for restoration of other controversial endangered carnivores including gray wolves, African wild dogs, and black-footed ferrets.  

Release of a red wolf on ARNWR. Photo by R. Nordsven/USFWS.

In addition to the wild red wolves on the refuge, there is also a RWSSP facility on the ARNWR.  This RWSSP site currently has four full-time captive residents: one breeding pair, and two adult females.  The three females arrived from Virginia Living Museum (Newport News, VA) in 2007 (one born in 2006, and two sisters born in 2007).  The breeding male was born at Henson Robinson Zoo (Springfield, IL) in 2007 and transferred from North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro, NC) in 2010. The breeding pair had their first litter of pups in 2013 (one of which was fostered into the wild). We’re hoping for more pups this year—stay tuned!

Happy 30th Birthday to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge! Please visit their website or Facebook page for more information!

2014 Red Wolf Howling Schedule at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Red Wolf Recovery Program offer you the opportunity to learn more about red wolves at the only place in the world where they still exist in the wild! Meet at the designated time at the Creef Cut Wildlife Trail parking lot off of Miltail Rd./Hwy 64 for a chance to hear the harmonious howl of this endangered species. 

Photo by Kingston Walzer, who recently won runner –up in a photo contest at  Rosamond Gifford Zoo, a partner in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan.

Free Spring Saturday Howlings
No Registration Required

• April 26 - Earth Day - 7:00-8:30 pm
• May 24 - Memorial Day -7:00-8:30 pm

Summer Howlings
No Registration Required
Summer Howlings cost $10 per person (bring cash, check, visa, or mastercard).
Children 12 and under are FREE!

• June 1-August 31, Wednesdays - 7:30pm-9:00pm

 Free Fall Saturday Howlings
No Registration Required

• October 11 - Wolf Awareness Week - 6:00-7:30 pm
• November 15 - Full Moon Howl - 5:00-6:30 pm
• December 6 - Holiday Howl - 5:00-6:30 pm

Important things to remember:

• Programs typically last about two hours.
• Bring a flashlight and insect repellent.
• Dress for the weather; howling will occur except with lightning, heavy rain, or wind or impassable roads. Decision to cancel will be made at least 1.5 hours prior to the scheduled program.
• Plan ahead! Creef Cut Wildlife Trail is about a 20 minute drive from Manteo!
•  Do NOT bring pets. 

Questions: Call 252-216-9464. 

Welcome Kate, the new red wolf caretaker intern!

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Kate!  She is the red wolf caretaker intern from September through December 2013. 

Kate grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and continues to reside there with her family when she’s not working remotely.  Some of her favorite things to do are reading, horseback riding, hiking, and watching British television.  She also love music and played clarinet in the marching band for six years.  Kate graduated in 2012 from UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.Sc. degree in Biology.  Since then, she has worked in different internship programs to gain experience and figure out what she wants to do next professionally.  Her goal is to be involved in animal care and research of terrestrial carnivores such as wolves and big cats.  Her main research interest is studying social communication within groups of animals.  Kate has a wide range of research experience with various species, including sea turtles in North Carolina and Florida, and sulfur butterflies in the Colorado Rockies.  She also studied abroad in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands two years ago and got to put her scuba certification to good use.  Within North Carolina, she also spent a summer working at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, and had the opportunity to overcome an intense fear of snakes.  By the end, she was a convert and was handling the snakes regularly at the museum; however, she still maintains a healthy distance from them in the wild. 

 

We’re lucky to have Kate as she enjoys the challenges of new experiences and is an incredibly dedicated worker.  She also knows her way around the refuge already, she was a General Refuge intern at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge this past summer and explored and gained useful knowledge about the native wildlife.   She looks forward to learning more about red wolves, gaining additional animal care experience, and assisting with the efforts of the Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Welcome Kate!