Photo: Red Wolf 1287; Can you see a litter?

Once common in the southeastern United States, red wolves are one of the most endangered canine species in the world, according to the Recovery Program website, ow.ly/4tT2J.

 

Red wolf 1287 (wolves in the recovery program get a number instead of a name, Samuels said) has lately been seen digging more often than usual and burying food, museum spokeswoman Taneka Bennett said. And, "she has removed the hair around her belly, something red wolves do to prepare for nursing.

"It could be a pseudopregnancy," Bennett said, but the only way to know for sure is a hands-on physical examination that the museum's animal staff think would be too stressful for the wolf.

The time is right, though, Samuels said. Red wolf cubs are typically born in April and May, wolf 1287 went into heat about two months ago and the species' gestation period averages 62 days.

If a litter is on the way, some of the pups will probably be introduced to a "foster" mother in the wild, Samuels said. There would have to be a wild mother with a litter born about the same time, and wolf 1287's litter would have to be large enough to divide.

"We would never take all her pups away," she said.

Litters range from two to nine pups, Samuels said; the average is four or five. Red wolf 1287 has had one previous litter, of three, back in 2005. But if one comes in the next few days, it may well be her last. Wolf 1287 is 8 years old.

more here     --"Red Wolf Litter on the Way?"

edit: Museum of Life and Science News Room and updates here.

According to Sherry Samuels, the museum's animal director, red wolf pups have been born as late as May 25, but the chances of a litter in Durham are now "very low."