The Great Plains Zoo and Butterfly House & Aquarium (GPZ/BHA) invites the community to help name our six critically endangered red wolf pups!

Voting is open February 1-29 at GreatZoo.org/Donate. The winning names will be announced March 1.

Choose a name for each pup from a list of three names. The names were selected from indigenous languages spoken in the southeastern U.S., where the species once roamed. A large list of names was compiled and voted on by the zookeepers, who tailored each short list to fit the individual pups’ personalities.

Each form submission of six names costs $6. Proceeds from the votes will contribute to the care of the wolves, as well as future renovations to their habitat.

The pups were born to Camelia and Uyosi in May 2023. This litter, comprised of two females and four males, is the first for both parents. It is also the largest litter of red wolves ever born at GPZ.

The red wolf is currently the most endangered canid species in the world, having once been extinct in its native range, due to habitat loss and aggressive predator control programs. Today, about two dozen red wolves live in the wild again, thanks to the cooperation of zoos participating in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP).

The red wolf SSP aims to breed pairs with the greatest possible genetic diversity, in an effort to bolster the wild population. Because their SSP is a reintroduction program, GPZ wolves are kept as wild as possible, so they can teach natural behaviors to their own pups.

In the next year, the pups will likely be placed at partner facilities, where they will someday start their own families. This species is still very much in the fight for survival, so please join GPZ in supporting their care and conservation by helping to give meaningful names to these pups.