Warren Parker, first national director of the Red Wolf Species Survival Program,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wolf expert and Asheville resident to speak on this successful species recovery effort!

Sunday, February 21^st at 2 p.m. at the Folk Art Center Auditiorium,

Milepost 382, on the Blue Ridge Parkway in East Asheville

Event sponsored by the Friends of the Western North Carolina Nature Center

Just a century ago, the red wolf, one of two wolf species in North America, was the top predator in the eastern United States. In 1973, the red wolf was declared an Endangered Species after years of predator control and habitat destruction. In a fight to save the species from extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched the Red Wolf Species Survival program in the 1980s including the creation of a captive breeding program, which includes the WNC Nature Center.

On Sunday, February 21^st at 2 p.m., Warren Parker, the first national director of the Red Wolf Species Survival Program and a resident of Asheville, will speak and present a slide show on the beginnings of this successful wild animal recovery project at the Folk Art Center Auditorium, Milepost 382, in East Asheville. This opportunity is offered free to Friends’ members. For non-members, there will be a $5 suggested contribution at the door. Reservations are recommended. RSVP to Sarah Oram, Friends Executive Director, at (828) 298-5600 ext. 308 or to friends@wildwnc.org by February 19th with your full name and the number in your party.

Under Mr. Parker’s leadership, enough red wolves were bred in captivity to begin a restoration program in 1987 at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina which continues to this day. Our own WNC Nature Center is one of the 40 red wolf captive breeding sites nationwide. Only around 300 red wolves remain in the United States, and around 200 of these make up the captive breeding program. Upon retirement, Mr. Parker consulted with Arizona Game and Fish Department on its Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program. At the height of his work on the red wolf, Mr. Parker was interviewed on television by national reporters such as Dan Rather and Peter Jennings.

At the Nature Center, our pair, Rufus and Angel, both Louisiana red wolves on loan from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife program, recently had a pup, Mayo, born May 5, 2009, which is another program success. If you’re lucky, you can spot her in the Center’s new Red Wolf Run. As with all pups produced by our red wolves, Mayo will be kept at the Nature Center and will remain in the captive breeding pool of red wolves.

Red wolves have a reddish color fur behind their ears and along the neck and legs but are mostly brown with some black along their backs. They are in between the size of coyotes and gray wolves and weigh 45-80 pounds at adulthood. Red wolves play an important part in our local ecosystem, as they prey on a variety of wild animals; such as raccoon, rabbit, white-tailed deer, nutria, and other rodents.

For more information, Sarah Oram, Friends Director, (828) 298-5600 ext. 308