RALEIGH, N.C.— The Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina provided names for four critically endangered red wolves: a breeding male and female and their two daughters. They make up one of only two packs of red wolves in the wild.

The last 20 wild red wolves live in the northeastern corner of North Carolina on the ancestral lands of the Tuscarora Nation. The Tuscarora Nation has been living with red wolves in the region for more than 2,400 years.

“Our ancestors occupied a large territory which included Goose Creek State Park, an area well known for red wolves,” said Rahnàwakęw Donnie McDowell, public relations officer for Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina.

“Red wolves are sacred animals to us,” said Runęhkwáʔčhęʔ Duane Brayboy, a linguist and historian for the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina. “One of our clans among the Tuscarora is the Wolf Clan. The Tuscarora and red wolves have a deep shared history.”

The Tuscarora Nation named the breeding male Pathmaker (Rahahę́·tih). Pathmaker, the last surviving male of his pack, is blazing a trail for his family through the swamps and forests of eastern North Carolina.

The breeding female is named Hope (Yerharahčrę́·tih). Hope carries the legacy and future of her pack as the only remaining breeding female.

The two female yearlings are named Hawkeye (Yęʔnewęyéhsthaʔ) and Shield (Kayęʔnaʔnęnę́thyar). Shield looks after her sister, and Hawkeye is an astute and careful observer.

Red wolves form pair-bonds for life. Their offspring stay with the pack for their first year or two before dispersing.

Thousands of red wolves historically roamed across most of eastern North America. By 1960, they were nearly extinct. Red wolves were saved by the Endangered Species Act, which established a captive breeding program and reintroduced red wolves into the wild on ancestral Tuscarora Nation lands in eastern North Carolina.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program successfully grew the wild population to more than 130 wolves. Then the program was halted in 2015, and the population crashed to as few as seven. Fortunately, the Red Wolf Recovery Program resumed in 2021, but serious threats remain for the world's most endangered canid. Gunshot and vehicle collisions are the leading causes of mortality.

In 2023 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a long-awaited Red Wolf Recovery Plan that commits to restoring red wolf populations and identifying two additional locations for red wolf reintroductions.

“The Tuscarora names will help protect the last remaining red wolves and inspire more people to care about them,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “For red wolves to make another incredible comeback, they’ll need all the help they can get.”

Photos of the red wolves and the Tuscarora pronunciations of their names can be found at saveredwolves.org.