NC State's pack grows with birth of 3 endangered red wolf pups

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's been the year of the wolf in many ways in the Triangle - with NC State's men's basketball team winning the ACC championship for the first time in 37 years and the men's and women's teams making memorable runs to the Final Four.

Now, NC State is welcoming its newest members of the pack - literally. Three new red wolf pups were born during Mother's Day weekend.

NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine is now caring for eight red wolves as the population of the endangered red wolves continues to grow.

Two of the three pups are female. In their first week of life, veterinarians reported that the pups gained weight and showed no signs of abnormalities.

"This is what it's all about," said Caroline Diehl, a second-year DVM student and co-president of the college's student-led Carnivore Conservation Crew. "There's no other reward like seeing a brand new baby endangered red wolf pup on your own campus and being a part of keeping the species alive."

About 250 red wolves are under human care at 41 partner facilities.

Fewer than 30 red wolves live in the wild, according to NC State. All of those live at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge near the North Carolina coast.