As our nation marks its 250th anniversary, North Carolina Zoo and Botanical Gardens is taking historic strides to protect the critically endangered American Red Wolf. North Carolina is currently the only state in the union where the Red Wolf still roams free despite the ongoing threat of extinction. Known as the world's most endangered canid and the only all-American wolf, Red Wolves are a symbol of North Carolinian resilience whose story is still being written... by you.
Together, we can continue rebuilding wild populations while hope still has a heartbeat.
Formerly numbering in the tens of thousands, American Red Wolves once thrived in the fields, forests, and wetlands of the southeastern United States. However, by 1980, the species was declared extinct in the wild. A dedicated team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) professionals painstakingly reintroduced the species to North Carolina in the years that followed. Today, just over two dozen individuals remain in the wild.
The species continues to fight for survival with the generous support of conservationists and wildlife professionals, scientists, lawmakers, donors, and generations of Zoo-goers. Every visit to the North Carolina Zoo helps save wildlife and wild places, including the American Red Wolf and their ancestral home!
Our state Zoo currently houses the world's second-largest breeding population of Red Wolves, preserving genetic diversity and a legacy as rich as our North Carolina soil. This enables the Zoo to partner with the USFWS to facilitate relocation of Zoo-born wolves into protected lands along the North Carolina coast, where Red Wolves roamed for thousands of years before overhunting and habitat destruction decimated their populations. The Zoo hopes to expand its American Red Wolf breeding program with the help of community members.
You can help by purchasing Zoo tickets or a membership, donating to the "Save the American Red Wolf" campaign, or gifting a special edition American Red Wolf adoption package while supplies last.