Three of the rarest puppies in the world were just born at Durham’s Museum of Life and Science, another milestone in red wolf conservation efforts.
The pups were born May 3 to Martha, a 7-year-old female, and Oka, an 11-year-old male, and are all in good health, museum officials announced Tuesday.
The pair were matched two years ago as part of an effort to preserve genetic diversity within the critically endangered species.
Red wolves were once a top predator throughout the southeastern United States, but their numbers have dwindled. Only about 20 remain in the wild in and around the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare and Hyde counties. About 300 are in human care, and breeding efforts have helped save the species from extinction…