2-year-old endangered red wolf killed in North Carolina crash, wildlife officials say

A 2-year-old endangered red wolf, which was one of less than 20 living in the wild, was killed in a recent crash in North Carolina, wildlife officials said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the animal, a male, was found dead "from an apparent vehicle strike mortality" on April 15 along Highway 64 in the East Lake area.

Officials said "monitoring indicated that he had been crossing the highway in that area and efforts were ongoing to haze him away from the highway and to capture/relocate him" ahead of his death.

Necropsy results are pending, according to officials.

The Center for Biological Diversity issued a news release Thursday, noting the wolf's name was Muppet. The non-profit organization said Muppet's father was also killed in a crash six months ago.

Muppet's tragic death brings North Carolina’s beleaguered red wolves one step closer to extinction,” Will Harlen, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in the release. “The world’s most endangered wolves should not be roadkill, especially when we know that building wildlife crossings could save them from being hit by vehicles. We owe it to Muppet and his family to give red wolves a fighting chance."

The organization noted Muppet was a member of the Milltail Pack, which is one of only two families of red wolves in the wild. The Milltail Pack consists of a breeding male and female, as well as nine surviving offspring.

Muppet -- also known as 2410M -- was the first-born and eldest of his pack’s juvenile wolves," the release noted. "After Muppet’s father died last fall, Muppet stepped up to fill in his role. Muppet helped protect the pups that his father left behind and even looked after his mother."

According to the release, vehicle strikes are the second leading cause of mortality for red wolves, while gunshot wounds top the list.

Two other red wolves were killed in crashed in the last year in the same area Muppet and his father were killed, the release noted. They include an unnamed female pup and an adult female.

Harlen said crashes involving wildlife also kill more than 200 people in the U.S. every year and cause $10 billion in damages.

That's why Harlen said wildlife crossings along the highway would save the lives of endangered animals, as well as humans.

To stop cars from killing these desperately endangered animals, we need to create wildlife crossings in their last refuges,” said Harlan. “Wildlife crossings can protect human lives and save red wolves from extinction.”

Aside from crashes and gunshots, the endangered species also die from other causes.

A week before Muppet was killed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said a wild female red wolf was seen "exhibiting uncharacteristic behavior for her, such as being visible close to open farm field roads, acting very lethargic, and appearing to have vision issues."

Officials captured the animal and took her to a veterinarian before she was transferred to the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Veterinary Hospital. There, she was diagnosed with an untreatable cancerous mass on her brain.

"The decision was then made to humanely euthanize her," according to officials. "Her medical care at the NCSU Veterinary Hospital was paid for by the Red Wolf Coalition."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are only 18 to 20 red wolves still living in the wild.

The red wolf, said wildlife officials, was first listed as "threatened with extinction" under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 in 1967. It is now listed as an "endangered species" under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

But there is some good news: the North Carolina Zoo on Thursday announced four critically endangered red wolf puppies were born at the zoo.

They were born on March 31 and are a part of the Zoo’s red wolf breeding program, which houses around 30 wolves," the zoo noted in a social media post. "The pups, two boys and two girls, will remain behind the scenes with mom, Roan, and dad, Marsh."

The zoo noted it has "one of the country's largest red wolf breed programs," describing it as "a massive conservation effort to save this species from the brink of extinction."