ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The St. Louis Zoo has seen plenty of new faces lately.
Plenty of animals have given birth at the zoo over the past 12 months, with some of the most notable births includes the birth of four American red wolf pups, the birth of a zebra foal, and the birth of a baby orangutan.
Some of the animals that have been birthed are considered endangered like the American red wolf, where there are only 20 left in the wild.
"I'm so incredibly of the team that works with them at the zoo because the American red wolf is the most endangered Canidae in the world," said Regina Mossotti, VP of Animal Care at the St. Louis Zoo on The Chris and Amy Show. "There solely native to the U.S. and these pups born at Sears Lehmann, Jr. Wildlife Reserve offer a huge amount of hope we can save that species."
Mossotti says that eventually the goal for the zoo is to eventually some release animals like the red wolves back into the wild. The American red wolves species currently reside in North Carolina.
"When you got only 20 left in the wild, releases are a big part of it," said Mossotti. "Our partner in the U.S. Fishing and Wildlife Service will ask the institutions that hold red wolves 'hey we need a few for releases' and we step up to the plate and help get those animals out."
Mossotti says keeping the animals wild and maintaining those natural instincts has led to zoo being quite innovative in how they approach them.
"The way they are raised in zoos like the St. Louis Zoo is we are hands off: we don't pet them, talk to them, handfeed them, we don't habituate them in any way," said Mossotti. "They have to learn those skills on their own of how to raise pups and we will feed deer carcasses that have been donated to us so they get practice eating native prey."