New Wolf Parents Teach Pups to Howl

The Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota has announced that their red-wolf pair, brought together only last October, have whelped a litter – four boys and two girls.

The new pups (now a few weeks old) and the proud parents are said to be doing very well. “Camelia and Uyosi are amazing parents,” the zoo’s animal-care director Joel Locke said in the announcement. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from them.”

Any red wolf birth is a good one, because this species of canid is the most endangered in the world, with only about two dozen living in the wild. The wolves at the Great Plains Zoo are part of the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan, which aims to bolster that threadbare wild population.

The pups are under constant surveillance, via camera and regular checkups.

“We will soon see the pups wandering around the exhibit, as they get bigger and braver,” the zoo promises. “However, zookeepers request that everyone in the area continue to use low voices, as new wolf parents can be especially susceptible to environmental stressors.”

One of the first lessons the new pups learn is an essential lupine skill: how to howl. BBC News has posted the unbearably cute footage, with audio. Welcome to Earth, kids.

Photo credit: Great Plains Zoo