Five red wolf pups are believed dead in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina after a vehicle struck and killed their father in June, the Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday.
Vehicle collisions are one of the leading causes of death for red wolves, the world’s most endangered species of wolf, according to the FWS. Fewer than 20 of the endangered species remain in the wild, all living in North Carolina.
Five other red wolves have been killed by vehicles in the past 14 months, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release.
In a statement, the Fish and Wildlife Service said that after “extensive monitoring, using multiple monitoring methods, there is no indication” that the litter fathered by the wolf that died in June survived.
