Wolf Conservation Center Inc

TEACH PEOPLE ABOUT WOLVES, THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE ENVIRONMENT & THE HUMAN ROLE IN PROTECTING THEM

"THE WCC CONTINUES TO PROVIDE A SAFE AND NURTURING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED RED WOLVES AND ENDANGERED MEXICAN GRAY WOLVES ENTRUSTED TO ITS CARE. HISTORY WAS MADE IN JUNE 2021 WHEN RED WOLF DEVEN, BORN TO PARENTS JACK AND CHARLOTTE AT THE WOLF CONSERVATION CENTER IN 2018, WAS RELEASED IN NORTH CAROLINA BY THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (USFWS). DEVEN AND THE SEVEN OTHER WOLVES CHOSEN FOR RELEASE (THREE ADULTS, FOUR PUPS) WERE SELECTED FOR THEIR GENETIC VALUE AND THEIR ESPECIALLY ELUSIVE BEHAVIORS. IN 2021, WE ADDED A SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST TO OUR STAFF TO BUILD OUT OUR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CAPABILITY WHICH ALLOWED US TO PROVIDE NOT ONLY FURTHER FUNDING AND BUT ALSO ON THE GROUND RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR THE GULF COAST CANID PROJECT. THE RED WOLF IS ONE OF THE MOST ENDANGERED CANIDS IN THE WORLD, WITH ONLY A HANDFUL OF INDIVIDUALS PERSISTING IN THE WILD. CONSERVATION EFFORTS HAVE FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON THE REINTRODUCED AND CAPTIVE POPULATIONS, WHICH, WERE ASSUMED TO BE THE ONLY RED WOLVES LEFT IN THE WORLD, BUT A RECENT DISCOVERY OF RED WOLF HYBRIDS ALONG THE GULF COAST OF TEXAS AND LOUISIANA HAS CHANGED THIS ASSUMPTION. THE DISCOVERY OF GHOST, OR EXTINCT RED WOLF GENES, IN HYBRID COYOTES, DEMONSTRATES A REAL POSSIBILITY THAT RED WOLF POPULATIONS MAY CONTINUE TO EXIST IN TEXAS AND LOUISIANA. THE GULF COAST CANID PROJECT WAS CREATED TO ACHIEVE THREE OBJECTIVES: (1) INITIATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP COMMUNITY SUPPORT TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF RED WOLF GENETICS PERSISTING IN THE GULF COAST CANID POPULATION, (2) UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF HISTORIC RED WOLF HYBRIDIZATION, AND (3) SEARCH FOR POTENTIAL REMNANT RED WOLVES LEFT IN THE REGION.IN A WORLD THAT IS EVER-CHANGING, ONE CONSTANT IS THE NEED TO CONTINUALLY EDUCATE ABOUT AND RAISE AWARENESS FOR WOLVES. THE WCC CONTINUED TO INNOVATE AND REACH WIDE AUDIENCES BOTH IN-PERSON AND VIRTUALLY, DESPITE FACING CHALLENGES THAT REVERBERATED GLOBALLY. IN 2021, WE WERE ABLE TO REOPEN OUR CAMPUS AND MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR ONSITE EDUCATION PROGRAMS. OUR VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING CONTINUED TO ALLOWED WOLF SUPPORTERS FROM AUSTRALIA TO IRELAND TO CALIFORNIA TO LEARN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF WOLVES TO THEIR FAMILIES AND TO ECOSYSTEMS, AND TO BETTER APPRECIATE THE NEED TO VALUE WOLVES AS INDIVIDUALS. DURING THESE TRYING TIMES OVER 12,250 PARTICIPATED IN SOME ASPECT OF OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMMING."