Join our 2018 Annual Polo Benefit
Be a part of the fun and excitement of world-class polo as the area’s top players square off in this “Sport of Kings” event. Proceeds benefit the EWC’s mission of preserving critically endangered Mexican wolves, red wolves, foxes and other canids.
With a new Chesterfield location, a variety of relaxed viewing and reserved table arrangements, the EWC Polo Classic is sure to be the summer’s premier event for families, friends, business colleagues, and sports fans of all ages. Sideline attractions include the Bubble Bus, Admiral the Clydesdale, photo opportunities, a champagne toast, and the popular halftime divot stomp.
• General Bleacher Seating is $30 per person, which includes food and drinks. Children five and under are free. (Note: Tickets for the EWC Polo Classic are now priced per-person rather than the per-carload pricing in previous years.)
• VIP tickets are $250 per pair, which includes semi-private cabana seating for two in a floral-decorated area, a fully outfitted picnic basket with delicious food and drink, and a visit from one of the EWC’s Ambassador animals.
• Sponsors enjoy a special catered meal created by Executive Chef Kara Sullivan of Flavor 360. Sponsorships begin at $500 and include a tented, floral-decorated garden area with seating for four, with supplemental, outdoor lounge furniture, plus all of the VIP perks listed above. Sponsors at the $1,000 level also receive access to a supplemental Sponsor Garden with outdoor lounge furniture and other amenities.
The EWC Polo Classic provides the ultimate guest entertainment. Treat yourself, your family and your friends to a special experience they’ll be talking about for the rest of the year. For more information call EWC at 636-938-9306.
Saturday, August 25th, 2018
McGehee Polo Field at Spirit Valley Farms
(Wild Horse Creek Road at Tuma Ln.)
17899 Wild Horse Creek Road
Chesterfield, MO 63005
3:00 p.m. Gates Open
4:00 p.m. Match Begins
Call: 636-938-9306
Thanks Newman’s Own!
Newman’s Own Foundation has been a supporter of the Endangered Wolf Center for several years now.
Our Ambassadors stopped by their Connecticut headquarters to say thank you for matching year-end donations and for funding part of our education programs.
Clea Newman, Paul Newman’s daughter, is a supporter and has visited the Center several times. Thanks Newman’s Own. Next stop, DC!
#EWC2018AmbassadorTour #NewmansOwnFoundation
Learn more about our Corporate Pack Partners sponsorship opportunities.
Corporate Pack PartnersLucky and Daisy on The Today Show
Guess who stole the show today–the Today Show that is!
Lucky and Daisy loved their 5 minutes of fame this morning, and did a great job spreading the word about their endangered friends in the wild and the important work we do here at the Endangered Wolf Center to preserve and protect them. Thank you, Kathie Lee and Hoda!
Watch them now at www.today.com.
| Watch Today Show | Adopt Lucky | Adopt Daisy |
4th Annual Messy Play Day on July 29
Join us for our 4th annual Messy Play Day young child event. Children aged walking to 5 years can have a blast getting messy while learning about nature and conservation.
Date/Time: Sunday, July 29th from 9am until 12pm.
Cost for Messy Play Day: $8 per child, Free for accompanying adults
Tours of our animal habitats are available.
Cost for Tour: $10 per adult. Free for child enrolled in Messy Play Day
Activities include dry and wet sand exploration, mud and dirt fun, water play, bubble fun, crafts and nature-themed music activities.
New!!! This year we have several organizations joining this fun event! They will provide activities, information and ideas for how to continue the exploration at home.
• Missouri Department of Conservation – Powder Valley Nature Center
• Audubon at Riverlands
• Missouri Master Naturalists
• Community Music School of Webster University
Please dress for mess!
These events are very popular, call 636-938-5900 now to reserve a spot. Walk-ups will be accepted based on availability.
Book Now
A small processing fee will be added for online booking, or you may call 636-938-5900 to book directly. Learn more about booking options.
Your comments by July 30 are critical for Red Wolves
The recent announcement released by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on June 27, 2018 proposes to dramatically change the scope of the American red wolf recovery program in the wild. Under the proposed new policy, the area where wild red wolves can disperse safely and thrive under their protected status will be reduced from approximately a million square acres to just over 200,000 acres.
Designated as an endangered species in 1967, today, there are only about 30 red wolves known to roam their native habitats in eastern North Carolina. Another 200 red wolves are maintained in captive breeding facilities throughout the United States, including two breeding pairs here at the Endangered Wolf Center. In fact, in 1987, an amazing female red wolf named Brindled Hope, born at the Endangered Wolf Center, was one of the first of eight animals introduced to the wild in North Carolina. She became the first red wolf to give birth in the wild. Today, many of the wolves now roaming free in North Carolina can trace their roots to the Endangered Wolf Center.
While the proposed changes to the recovery plan area reverses course on decades of efforts, we at the Endangered Wolf Center remain encouraged by the Fish and Wildlife Service’s commitment to keep the American Red Wolf Recovery Program moving forward despite the numerous challenges the Service faces. We are heartened by the Service’s assurances that they’ll actively seek out additional recovery areas in the historic range of American red wolves to help reestablish and restore the population in the Southeastern United States.
The Service has now prioritized working with state and local landowners in North Carolina, to modify management of the red wolf in an effort to reevaluate how they can increase the success of the recovery program. Building community support for the American red wolf is a critical step that can benefit recovery efforts in North Carolina, a fact that FWS has openly acknowledged.
As an active member of the conservation and zoological communities, along with institutions like the Smithsonian, Arkansas State University, and many others, we are poised and ready to step up and help with community outreach to ensure red wolves survive.
This new phase of refocusing will hopefully prove beneficial for the FWS’s overall efforts to grow their partnerships with stakeholders, non-governmental agencies and the state of North Carolina. By working with local landowners, we can start the process of re-growing the available recovery area for red wolves in North Carolina. We also plan to collaborate on research and education programs to show just how vital this keystone species continues to be for our ecosystems. And we will continue in our long history of successfully breeding critically endangered red wolves, to help aid in future release efforts. Our goal is to make sure this national treasure is saved for future generations of Americans.
We need your help and support.
1) FWS is seeking comments about the proposed changes to the Red Wolf Recovery Program in North Carolina. Please submit positive, constructive suggestions and support to continue recovery efforts, and to grow them in North Carolina and in the red wolf’s historic range. You may post your comments to FWS online by July 30 at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/06/28/2018-13906/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-proposed-replacement-of-the-regulations-for-the
or write in to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Attn: FWS–R4–ES–2018–0035
MS: BPHC
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803
2) We urge you to write your state and federal representatives and tell them you want them to support saving the American red wolf. They will hear you.
3) Your financial donation to the Endangered Wolf Center and/or other organizations fighting for this species will help us fight for the future for the American red wolf. To donate online, click here. https://www.endangeredwolfcenter.org/make-donation/
Thank you for your support of this important cause. You may learn more about the red wolf and the work we are doing to save this amazing species at:
https://www.fws.gov/southeast/pdf/fact-sheet/red-wolf.pdf
EWC Staff Speaks at Key Wolf Conservation Seminar
Regina with famed Georgian wolf biologist Dr. Jason Badridze (left), his daughter Dr. Nino Badridze, Regina, and acclaimed canine behaviorist Nelson Hodges (right).
Regina Mossotti, Director of Animal Care and Conservation for the Endangered Wolf Center, recently participated in Wolf Behavior, Dynamics & Conservation, a fundraising seminar in Midland Park, New Jersey with renowned Wolf Biologist Dr. Jason Badridze. During the seminar Regina discussed historical and recent efforts to save and repatriate the Mexican Gray Wolf and other species of endangered predators; she also addressed the critical need for apex predators in the North American landscape.
The seminar was followed by a “Mexican Fiesta for Mexican Wolves” to support recovery and conservation of the Mexican Gray Wolf where more than $5,000 was raised to help support the Endangered Wolf Center and the California Wolf Center.
Thanks to Regina for representing the EWC – and the wolves – so well!
REI National Trails Day a sell-out success
When we asked some of our friends, followers and supporters to take a hike, they did just that – and what a day it was.
We’re talking about National Trails Day of course, which was Saturday, June 2. The fundraising event was a sell-out, with 90 people from all ages and walks of life walking in the woods at the Endangered Wolf Center on behalf of the animals in our care.
The rain didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm, and the sun came out just in time for hikers to meet some of our resident animal ambassadors like Cooper, a rare, black red fox who soaked up the attention. Cooper is what biologists call a melanistic animal, meaning that he’s all black because of an excess development of the black pigment in his skin.
Hikers were also treated to a catered lunch by Bravo, and live music by local singer-songwriter and guitarist Joey Ferber. A special thank you to our raffle sponsors Mission Taco, Kaldi Coffee of Chesterfield, REI and Andy’s Frozen Custard.
Next spring, if we give you a call and tell you to take a hike, say “YES!” and come join us for this annual outdoor event. It’s a fun way to mingle with fellow animal lovers as we all work to preserve and protect endangered wolves and the wild places that depend on them.
Below are some highlights from our hike.
Four EWC wolf pups make cross-fostering history
OVERCOMING MANY OBSTACLES:
MEXICAN WOLF PUPS FLY TO AZ & NM TO HELP SAVE SPECIES IN FIRST DOUBLE FOSTER EVENT
The Endangered Wolf Center, United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Interagency Field Team—which is made up of biologists from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, USDA Forest Service, USDA Wildlife Services, and the White Mountain Apache Tribe—collaborate to fly four 10-day-old pups born at the Center from St. Louis to their new families in the wilds of New Mexico and Arizona in the first ever double foster.
The Endangered Wolf Center flew four critically endangered Mexican wolf pups to Arizona to be cross-fostered by two different wild packs (one in Arizona and one in New Mexico) on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. This historic collaborative effort between the Endangered Wolf Center staff, the Fish and Wildlife Services and its partners represents the first time four pups born in captivity have been “adopted out” to two different packs in two different states at the exact same time.
Mexican wolf pups during health exam before flight.
“Saving species requires creativity and breakthroughs in conservation techniques,” said Regina Mossotti, Director of Animal Care and Conservation at the EWC, “and this double foster was a great example of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the EWC and the states working together to seize a unique opportunity to help Mexican wolves.”
Cross foster wolf pup health check in Phoenix Airport by FWS vet Susan Dicks and EWC team.
Cross-fostering is a technique where wolf puppies from one litter are placed with another litter in hopes that the wolf mother will adopt the additions as her own. Placing pups from captivity into a wild litter not only helps increase the population size in the wild but also helps increase genetic diversity. It is also a wonderful way to have wild parents (with an established territory and experience) raise and teach the pups how to survive.
Fostering is a relatively new technique for the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program. With fewer than 150 individuals left in the wild—mostly found in Arizona and New Mexico—these four pups born at the EWC on April 9, 2018 (male pups “Benny” and “Grenville” and female pups “Spirit” and “Belinda”) represent vital new genetics needed for a critically endangered population.
Endangered Wolf Center team Sarah Holaday and Kim Rutledge on Arizona Game & Fish plane flying to wild dens.
Extreme terrain and logistics make fostering challenging, and the timing has to be just right. Wild and captive litters have to be born within a few days of one another, and the transfer from captivity to the wild has to occur before the pups are fourteen days old. “Everything has to line up…the stars, the sun, the moon, and the planets all have to align to make a foster happen,” said Mossotti. “The timing of the birth of wild pups has to be within a few days of our pups…to say nothing of the logistics. There are weather considerations, flights and travel, personnel, locating wild dens, securing funding—all pieces of the puzzle have to come together very quickly to get this done.”
All four pups before release during vet check in the recovery area.
This operation almost stopped in its tracks, due to high winds and a wildfire in Arizona. Overcoming the logistics and managing the shifting and potentially dangerous conditions on the ground make the success of the Endangered Wolf Center, the USFWS, and Arizona Game and Fish’s efforts all the more remarkable.
The four pups flew to Arizona, accompanied by Sarah Holaday, EWC Animal Care Staff and Kim Rutledge, Executive Director of the Wildlife Rescue Center. “Our staff members are experts, and they did an incredible job making sure that these precious pups stayed safe, warm and well-cared for on their journey to the wild,” said Virginia Busch, Executive Director of the Endangered Wolf Center. “The Endangered Wolf Center is proud of our efforts to collaborate to grow the conservation success for the endangered species the EWC is working to save.”
FWS biologist Alison Greenleaf examing pups at wild den before foster credit Endangered Wolf Center.
This year, several wild packs denned at the exact same time as the pack at the Endangered Wolf Center. Sibi (mother) and Lazarus (father) at the EWC had a litter of seven healthy pups. Having this large litter offered the opportunity to take four pups and place them into two different packs litters. “It is rare to have litters match up, but to have several at once was very exciting!” said Mossotti.
 Endangered Wolf Center team with pups on their back ready to hike to wild den in New Mexico. |
 Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in Arizona New Mexico Border Pups new home. |
Spirit and Grenville were fostered into the Elk Horn Pack in Arizona. Elk Horn had five pups, growing to seven with the new additions. Benny and Belinda were fostered into Frieborn Pack in New Mexico, growing their six-pup litter to eight.
“The Endangered Wolf Center has been working for almost 50 years to help make breakthroughs in conservation for endangered canids. And efforts like this double foster are examples of how conservation for the Mexican wolf is moving in a positive direction!” said Busch.
Celebrate with us by making a donation to continue our wild efforts.
Donate Now
Celebrate Lucky’s First Birthday May 6
The Lucky Number is One
Lucky’s Story
They grow up so fast! It was just one year ago that the Endangered Wolf Center welcomed maned wolf pup Lucky to our pack – and she’s been winning hearts ever since.
Her story is one of surviving and thriving. Born at Zoo Boise to a mother who was unable to raise her litter, Lucky was the only surviving pup. The EWC was asked to step in because of our experience fostering other species of canids, and at just two weeks old, Lucky flew home to St. Louis where she’s been raised as an animal ambassador for her species. (For the complete story of how Lucky came to live at the EWC, go to our Meet Lucky post.)
Today, with the collaboration of the Saint Louis Zoo veterinarian team, the Wildlife Rescue Center and the Animal Clinic of Clayton, at one year old, Lucky has grown from less than a pound to nearly 55 pounds and is thriving. And she’s already winning hearts with her dynamic personality. “She’s a strong pup,” says Regina Mossotti, Director of Animal Care and Conservation at the EWC. “She’s a fighter – a survivor. And very intelligent, too! She outsmarted her foster puppy brothers and sisters, figuring out puzzles much faster, and showing great curiosity, she loves to explore everything!”
Lucky’s unique situation and her sweet personality make her the perfect ambassador for her species. Never before has a maned wolf been available for an up close experience to educate the public about the plight of her unique species. Lucky and the staff at EWC are happy to tell her story, which is not only heartwarming, but an example of the critical conservation efforts at the EWC to help preserve and protect endangered species.
The Celebration
As is customary for families with babies turning one, the EWC is planning a birthday party for Lucky – not only to commemorate her first birthday, but to celebrate her survival! Of course, Lucky will make an appearance at her party, during which we’ll celebrate with a “cake” (one for Lucky and one more suitable for our guests!), birthday card and presents. There will also be party games, live music, photo opportunities, craft projects and more during the party.
Lucky 11 months
The Details
The celebration is on Sunday, May 6 at 2 p.m. at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Missouri. Space is limited, so if you’d like to help us celebrate, give us a call today at 636-938-5900; reservations are $25/person.
Birthday Presents for Lucky
Can’t attend the party but you’d like to help? Visit our Amazon Wish List and send Lucky a birthday present! Or make a donation in honor of Lucky on our website or on GiveSTL Day, Tuesday, May 2 at https://www.givestlday.org/endangeredwolfcenter. A generous supporter of the EWC will match all donations!
Regina & Lucky
About maned wolves
– The maned wolf is the tallest member of the canid family, but it is not a true wolf. It is in its own unique genus, and more closely related to an ancient canid.
– Maned wolves are nicknamed “fox on stilts” for their leggy build and fox-like features.
– This South American native roams a range extending from the Amazon in Brazil to the dry shrub forests of Paraguay and northern Argentina.
– Unlike most wolves, these gentle, timid animals typically live alone, except to breed.
– The maned wolf is threatened with extinction in its native habitat. This is due to loss of habitat—grasslands being converted to crops or grazing pastures.
– The introduction of dog diseases, and also a belief that some of its organs have medicinal healing powers have also led to maned wolf population decline.
Hike with us on National Trails Day June 2
Celebrate the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day on Saturday, June 2, 2018 by joining us for a 4-mile hike through the Endangered Wolf Center.
We’ll hike from the gatehouse down Igloo Road, up to the cave and back to the campfire for lunch – stopping to howl with the wolves along the way – then we’ll visit with one of our ambassador animals! While the hike is approximately four miles, it’s an easy trail, and everyone is welcome.
The gates open at 10 a.m.and the hike starts promptly at 10:30 a.m. (No admittance after 10:30 a.m.) The price is $10 per person and includes lunch and live acoustic music!
For reservations call 636-938-5900.
Wolf Center News
