ASHEBORO, N.C. — North Carolina Zoo's new red wolf pups now have names.
Four girls and two boys were born at the zoo in April. The public got to vote on their names in an online poll. The winning names were Eno, Harper, Pearl, Warrior, Fisher, and Catawba. More than 6,500 people voted.
Zoo officials said the names are based on rivers in the Southeastern U.S. where critically endangered red wolves used to range.
Other names included in the poll were Edisto, Haw, Waccamaw, and Swannanoa.
The pups were born as part of the zoo's red wolf breeding program. There were three litters totaling 12 pups born during three days in late April. The names of the two other litters will be announced soon.
The zoo now has 35 red wolves, making it the second-largest pack in the U.S. after Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington.
Only 15-20 red wolves remain in the wild, and they are all in eastern North Carolina, according to the NC Zoo. Red wolves are considered the most endangered canid in the world.