RWSSP of the month--Akron Zoo, host of 2014 RWSSP meeting

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.  The RWSSP of the month is the Akron Zoo in Akron, Ohio.  In 1900, George and Ann Perkins donated 79 acres of land to be designated as a public park.  In 1979, the zoo changed its name to the Akron Zoological Park. In addition, the City of Akron turned over governance of the zoo to the Board of Trustees when the zoo became a non-profit organization.  The Zoo has expanded enormously in the past 30 years, adding numerous exhibits and features. In 2013, it opened its largest exhibit to date: the Mike & Mary Stark Grizzly Ridge exhibit, which features bald eagles, an aviary, grizzly bears, otters, red wolves and coyotes.

We are very excited to have Akron Zoo as one of the newest RWSSP locations, joining the network in 2013. Currently, they have two female sibling red wolves (1856F and 1857F) that were born in 2011 at Miller Park Zoo (Bloomington, IL).  These two new additions to the zoo bring a lot of new visitors!

Akron Zoo offers multiple programs and opportunities for folks to learn about the zoo including a variety of tours and programs including Keeper for a Day, and Zoo Veterinarian for a Day.  Please check out their website for more information.

Captive red wolf, Akron Zoo. Photo credit: R. Harrison/UFSWS.

Captive red wolf, Akron Zoo. Photo credit: R. Harrison/UFSWS.

Just last week, the Akron Zoo hosted the 2014 RWSSP annual meeting. More than 25 participants from 20 locations met over three days to discuss husbandry methods and techniques, current and ongoing red wolf research, and facility updates.  The majority the meeting is dedicated to examining all the available breeding wolves in the RWSSP network (across 40+ locations) to see if individuals need to be moved from facility to facility to form the best potential breeding pairs.  With more than 175 breeding red wolves in the captive population, this is no small feat.  Age, health history, genetic relatedness, and logistical difficulties of transferring animals are all taken into consideration when deciding new pairs.  We are hopeful for safe transfers, successful pairings, and more pups next spring!

A tied breeding red wolf pair during breeding season. Photo credit: Greg Dodge.

We would like to extend a big thank you to the RWSSP Coordinator, Will, for organizing everyone for the meeting and the Akron Zoo Curator of Mammals, Eric, to hosting us all!  Thank you to the staff, volunteers, and supporters at the Akron Zoo!!

Please visit their website or Facebook page for more information.

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!

RWSSP of the month: Knoxville Zoo

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.  The RWSSP of the month is the Knoxville Zoo  in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Originally called Birthday Park, the zoo opened in 1948. Over the years, it flourished, and is currently home to > 900 animals, including 27 threatened and endangered species in different Species Survival Plans.

The Knoxville Zoo is currently home to four red wolves, including breeding pair 1395M and 1607F, and two male siblings, 1735M and 1736M. 1395M was born in 2005 at the Western North Carolina Nature Center (Asheville, NC) and was at Mill Mountain Zoo (Roanoke, VA) before moving to Knoxville in 2010. Female 1607 was born in 2010 at Henson Robinson Zoo (Springfield, IL) and came to Knoxville in 2011. The male siblings were born at Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL) and were transferred from Wildlife Science Center (Forest Lake, MN) in 2012. 

The museum first began participating in the RWSSP in December 1990, when red wolf 278F arrived from Oglebay's Good Children's Zoo (Wheeling, WV).  One month later, 248F (from Texas Zoo; Victoria, TX) and 297M (from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center; Glen Rose, TX) arrived in Knoxville.   Pups were born in 1991, 1992, and 1993. Over the years, approximately 30 individual red wolves have spent time at the zoo.  In addition to these contributions of successful breeding pairs, Knoxville Zoo also assisted with the wild reintroduction site in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the 1990s by providing logistical support and veterinary care when needed.

Knoxville Zoo  has also had a large role in red wolf education efforts, both within the RWSSP and public outreach campaigns.  They produced the first RWSSP husbandry video in the early 1990s, and more recently have participated in the Quarters for Conservation program, where a quarter ($0.25) of every admission sold is marked for conservation donation. The zoo committee chose the Red Wolf Recovery Program to be a 2014 recipient of conservation funds again this year.  In the first year we were involved with the program, the zoo raised over $3500 for red wolf conservation efforts!

Thank you Knoxville Zoo !!

Please visit their website or Facebook page for more information!

Want to hear the red wolves howl at the zoo?  Check out this link!

RWSSP of the month—Tallahassee Museum

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.  The RWSSP of the month is the Tallahassee Museum  in Tallahassee, Florida. The Museum was first conceived in 1957 as the Tallahassee Junior Museum, but moved to its current 52-acre location in 1962 between Lake Bradford and Lake Hiawatha.  The museum has many diverse exhibits including Big Bend Farm, which is dedicated to the re-creation of rural life in north Florida around 1880 complete with a grist mill and turpentine commissary.  The Old Florida section of the museum includes the 19^th century Bellevue Plantation (once the home of Catherine Murat, a relative of George Washington, and wife of Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew), the 1937 Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, and the 1890s Concord schoolhouse. A large part of the museum is devoted to Florida native habitats and wildlife including bobcats, black bears, white-tailed deer, and two endangered species: the Florida panther and red wolf.

Red wolf at Tallahassee Museum. Photo copyright: Stephen Nakatani.

Tallahassee Museum is currently home to four red wolves, females 1378 and 1786, and males 1359 and 1375. The museum first began participating in the RWSSP in February 1988, when red wolves 219 and 222 arrived from Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, (PDZA; Tacoma, WA).  222 must have not enjoyed the Florida heat, as she returned to PDZA in December 1988.  Female 303 was transferred from PDZA instead as a mate for 219. The pairing was successful, and 219 and 303 went on to serve very important roles in the Red Wolf Recovery Program.  After producing their first litter of three pups at the museum, the pair was transferred in January 1990 to nearby St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge to be the first red wolves at the then-newly established island propagation site.  Three months later, the pair produced two pups (one of which remained on the island, the other which spent time in the northeastern North Carolina wild population before returning to St. Vincent).  In 1991, the breeding pair 219 and 303 was transferred to the reintroduction area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  

Over the years, more than 20 individual red wolves have spent time at the museum.  Additional litters were born there in 2003, including familiar female 1276 now at the Red Wolf Healthcare and Education Facility (Columbia, NC), and in 2005, including current resident 1786. In addition to endless contributions of successful breeding pairs and ongoing educational efforts, Tallahassee Museum also has assisted with the planning, logistics, and transfer of red wolves from other RWSSP facilities to nearby St. Vincent island propagation site.  This has occurred since the original breeding pair went to St. Vincent throughout the years to more recent efforts.  Mike Jones, Animal Curator at the museum, and staff played critical roles in assisting the recent transfer of male 1565 from St. Vincent to RWSSP site Wolf Conservation Center (South Salem, NY). Thank you!!

Please visit their website or Facebook page for more information!