the 2025 litter of red wolf puppies are held in a line in the hands of the College of Veterinary Medicine's Carnivore Conservation Crew

Red Wolf Conservation

Students, faculty and clinicians at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine play an important role in helping save the critically endangered red wolf species.

NC State Carnivore Conservation Crew

Students, faculty and clinicians at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine play an important role in helping save the world’s most critically endangered canid.

Veterinary students and faculty members run the NC State Carnivore Conservation Crew, a volunteer organization that provides medical and husbandry services for a pack of red wolves that includes breeding pairs. We partner closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) Program to protect and breed red wolves in the hopes of repopulating them in the wild. There are fewer than 20 wolves living in the wild on the coast of North Carolina.

How You Can Help

Donate

Donate any amount helps our Carnivore Conservation Crew care for our red wolf pack. Funds help us with wolf enclosure costs, enrichment items, grounds/fence repairs and community outreach.

Give a gift

“Adopt” a Wolf

Additionally, you can also virtually “adopt” one of our red wolves to help make a difference.

Learn more

Get a Closer Look

Read about our role in red wolf recovery, what the Carnivore Conservation Crew does and our 2024 litter of puppies.

Back from the Brink: NC State’s Key Role in Red Wolf Recovery

The College of Veterinary Medicine is at the center of a nationwide effort to help the canid survive, providing medical care, conducting research and tending its own pack of the critically endangered species.

Learn more about the breadth of our work, our partnerships and the history of the red wolf.

Read the full article

Red wolf conservation is important in keeping wolves like this healthy.

Carnivore Conservation Crew: Working with Wolves

Read more about the work of our Carnivore Conservation Crew and what it’s like to be a part of the team in charge of caring for this endangered species.

“No other vet school in the entire country has an opportunity like this to see such up close and personal management of the most endangered canine in the world.”

Read the full story

Howlelujah! 3 Red Wolf Pups Join NC State’s Pack

The number of critically endangered red wolves cared for on the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine campus jumped from five to eight over Mother’s Day Weekend when breeding pair Penny and Jewell produced precious puppies.

“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.”

Read all the “pupdates” here

See Our Pack and Learn More About Our Efforts

The NC State Veterinary Medicine team recently worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and other conservation partners to release some endangered red wolves back into the wild. Read more.