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Seven critically endangered red wolves will leave Durham for New York next month as part of a national effort to save the species from extinction.
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Thursday afternoon, the Museum of Life and Science in Durham announced the pack — Carolina and Jacques and their five pups born in May — will move in October to the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York. The center works to conserve the Mexican gray wolf and the red wolf.
The pups, named Cane, Champ, Puck, Stomy and Whaler, were named through a public poll celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2026 Stanley Cup victory.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program directed the transfer to keep the pack together while providing more space for the pups as they grow up.
The program’s leadership determined Carolina and Jacques remain a genetically valuable breeding pair and could have another litter next year, the Museum said in a statement.
Sherry Samuels, the director of animal care at the muuseum, said the transfer is “guided by what will have the greatest benefit for the species and for the individual animals.”
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In connection with the move, the museum will get a new breeding pair of red wolves, Sabine and Mac Tire, from the New York facility.
The museum has worked since the early 1990s to save the dwindling red wolf population. Fewer than 300 remain in the wild and human care combined. The wolves once roamed the southeastern United States, but after years of habitat losst, wolf-vehicle collisions and shootings, they have become critically endangered.
Still, with conservation efforts, the population has been making strides. This spring, four litters of pups were born in the wild. Also, the state received a $31 million federal grant to construct safe wildlife crossings under U.S. 64, a road that cuts through a red wolf habitat
Visitors can visit Carolina, Jacques and their pups at the museum at 433 W. Murray Ave., until their departure next month.
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This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 5:16 PM.