DURHAM, N.C. _ Last week, the Durham Museum of Life and Science in North Carolina was celebrating the birth of three rare red wolf pups.
This week, they're mourning the loss of one of those highly endangered wolves.
Fewer than 300 red wolves are alive today. A female at the museum gave birth to a litter of pups on April 21.
The museum announced the births of the pups on Facebook. Staff found three pups total: two males and one female. All were in good health, including at their checkup on Friday, according to Animal Department director Sherry Samuels.
"The three pups gained a lot of weight and gave us little reason to be concerned," Samuels wrote on the museum's Animal Keeper Blog.
On Saturday, though, museum staff watching the family carefully on camera noticed on of the pups was separated from the other two.
"After we confirmed the pup hadn't moved for a while, we went in the exhibit to check things out," Samuels wrote. "Sadly, the female pup was dead. Even though I know that death is a regular part of this process, and the first month of life is very fragile, it was quite shocking and heartbreaking."
Testing is being done to try to determine the cause of death.
"We hope to learn in the coming days to weeks what caused this apparently healthy pup to die," Samuels wrote.
The first 30 days are a particularly critical time for wolf pups, and museum staff will be monitoring them closely.
"The next month is filled with lots of work and so many emotions _ covering the spectrum from excitement to fear," Samuels said following the birth of the pups. "This first month is a critical time, and survival is not guaranteed. Every day the pups survive is a good day."
Staff is now focusing all of their energy on the remaining pups.
"We shut down the exhibit area and tried to make things as quiet for the family as possible," Samuels wrote. "We wanted the environment as calm as possible. We'll keep the exhibit area closed for now. We'll keep the area closed for as long as we think best for the wolves.
"I hope our next posts share positive news."
