Atohi is no longer at the Endangered Wolf Center. For a list of currently adoptable animals, visit our adopt page.
I am…bold, yet shy. My kind may be underdogs in the wild. But America loves an underdog who doesn’t quit. And I’m as all-American as they get.
I am Atohi.
“If you shrug off a loss, you can’t be a winner.” These words were a key philosophy behind the great Vince Lombardi, one of the most legendary coaches and inspiring leaders in the history of America’s National Football League.
In 1980, America appeared to be in the final seconds of losing one of its own. That year the red wolf, the only wolf native to the US, was declared extinct in the wild. Extinct. Any hope of a late-game comeback rested on the shoulders of the few wolves at managed care facilities.
Yet there were those of us watching who weren’t willing to shrug off such a great loss. Those who still believed a win was within reach.
Meet Atohi, a member of America’s most endangered species. Atohi was born on March 22, 2014 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His keepers at Green Bay’s NEW Zoo & Adventure Park described him as one of the boldest of his many brothers – an attribute he was reserved to show once he first arrived at the Endangered Wolf Center.
Though Atohi was slow to come out of his shell after coming into our care in December of 2016, this is also due to his sharp instincts as a wolf. Unlike their characters in fictional stories and fairy tales, wolves are shy by nature, especially around people.
If there’s anyone who could help bring Atohi out of his shell, it would be his hopeful mate Katniss. She is an energetic, fun-loving goofball, full of personality. With only around 50 red wolves living in the wild today, the future of the species still heavily relies on breeding pairs like Atohi and Katniss at Centers like ours. And in a come-from-behind game like the one red wolves have been playing now for decades, our Center is leading the pack in their recovery.
In one of his most inspiring quotes, Coach Lombardi said, “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” Your adoption of Atohi will help us continue to work toward an epic victory for America’s wolf – their recovery in the wild.