New Orleans zoo’s near-threatened maned wolves have 4 pups

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The zoo in New Orleans says near-threatened maned wolves brought to the Audubon Zoo to breed have done just that, and are rearing four puppies. Three are black and one is silver, but they’ll mature to their parents’ coloration — red coats shading to black on muzzles and long, slender legs. Maned wolves are from South America. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources estimates there are about 17,000 mature maned wolves in the wild, with about 90% of them in Brazil. The Audubon Zoo’s adults arrived in August 2021. The pups were born Jan. 31, but the zoo delayed the birth announcement until Thursday because many canids die very young.