Red Wolf 1287
I am keeping Red Wolf 1287 in my thoughts today because I hear she is removing hair from her belly. Now that is a good sign, it means that Red Wolf 1287, an inmate of Durham Zoo in the USA, is, yes, pregnant.
Congratulations all round if this is true. Great news for Red Wolf 1287 and for Red Wolf 1369 her male companion but it is great for the World too because the red wolf is the most endangered of all canine species, extinct in the wild and with only 300 known to exist anywhere.
Red Wolf 1287, if she is indeed pregnant, could have up to six puppies some time in April or May, so, if my maths is right, that could take the total to 306.
I wonder what they will name them, I have always loved the name 1370 but we could argue about that for hours.
In case you think Durham Zoo is a bit unimaginative in its animal names, all endangered species are known by their number. They started their breeding programme in the 1970s but admit that they are struggling to maintain the species genome. It was would be a tragedy if we lose this beautiful creature. Let’s all hope that one day there will be a Red Wolf One Million.
Should we send flowers? Or maybe a nice recently killed sheep? I’ll go take a look for one now.
Good luck Red Wolf 1287.
if you want to know more about these inspiring creatures, here is a link to the Red Wolf Recovery Program: