About Us

The Endangered Wolf Center Legacy

The Endangered Wolf Center

• Is the only Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) certified related wolf facility in the world.
• Sponsored the first meeting of wolf biologists in 1971
• Hosted the first two International Symposium on Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in Washington D.C. in 1974 and St. Louis in 1977
• Was the first institution to participate in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's red wolf and Mexican gray wolf captive breeding programs
• Helped recover the red wolf population from 14 wolves to 160 in captivity and over 70 in the wild
• Helped recover the Mexican gray wolf population from 5 wolves to 235 in captivity and over 40 in the wild
• Is a steering committee member of the red wolf, Mexican gray wolf, and maned wolf Species Survival Plans of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
• Has been the birth site of more Mexican gray wolves born in captivity than any other U.S. facility (over 45%)
• In December 1993 was the first of two USFWS cooperators to exchange Mexican gray wolves with a Mexican institution
• Is the birth site of more Mexican gray wolves selected for release in the southwestern U.S. than any other facility in the United States or Mexico
• Is the birthright of all the packs of Mexican gray wolves now roaming free in the Southwest (they or their parents were born and raised at the Wild Canid Center)
• Has been the birth site of 30 of the red wolves born in captivity
• Contributed one of the first red wolves to be reintroduced into the wild in North Carolina
• Raised the female red wolf that was the first to give birth in the wild
• Is the birthright of over 70% of the red wolves now roaming free in North Carolina
• Raised the male Mexican wolf that was the first to sire wild-born pups in Arizona
• Was the birthright of the female Mexican gray wolf that was the first to give birth to wild-born pups in New Mexico
• Was the birth site of the first litter of maned wolves to be reared by both parents in almost a decade
• Was one of first two U.S. facilities selected to breed swift foxes for release
• Leads several Three-Year Action Plan projects for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and SSP: semen collection, cryopreservation and assisted reproduction; husbandry training
• Forged partnerships with zoos, non-governmental organizations and government entities in Mexico and the United States to standardize husbandry on both sides of the border to enhance recovery for the Mexican gray wolf
• Conducts nutritional research that benefits endangered canids (in partnership with Purina Mills, Inc. developed Mazuri Exotic Canine used widely in the industry, and Mazuri Maned Wolf Diet)
• Sponsors noninvasive behavioral research on wolves onsite and in their natural habitat; resource for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals on sabbatical
• Maintains a library and data bank for the use of a wide variety of people ranging from elementary students to international scientists
• Hosted approximately 58,000 visitors in 2003 (approximately 75% are children); presented programs to well over 500,000 over its history

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