Ribbon cutting held for new Red Wolf Ridge Exhibit at Lowcountry Zoo

MURRELLS INLET, S.C. (WBTW) – A ribbon cutting was held Saturday at the Low Country Zoo at Brookgreen Gardens to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit that is now the home to Red Wolves.

The Red Wolves are the zoos first endangered species. There are three male siblings and they were born at the Akron, Ohio Zoo.

The new exhibit is officially open to the public.

The trio came as the Lowcountry Zoo’s “starter” wolves as part of the SAFE program which stands for saving animals from extinction.

Andrea DeMuth, Vice President, and curator of the zoo collection at the Lowcountry Zoo said they are really excited to have red wolves and to be involved in the AZA SAFE program.

“It’s been a long haul,” she said. “They have been on our master plan since I started here in 2006 and always got kind of bumped out of the way.”

Zoo officials said the wolves are very endangered and said they were very happy to give them a home.

“I have always wanted to have an endangered species in our collection, “DeMuth said. “So this is our first endangered species and they are actually critically endangered and they are the most critically endangered in the world of the canid species.”

Community members spent the morning enjoying the new exhibit and gathered to hear the speeches being made during the next ribbon cutting.

Beth Stedman, the president and CEO of Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce said she could noy qualify or quantify all that it means to South Carolina’s hammock coast..

“Thank you for this exhibit,” she said.

Many of the donors were in attendance and have a sign dedicated to them at the exhibit.

Page Kiniry, President and CEO of Brookgreen Gardens said she had an incredible list of thanks for funding the exhibit.

“It doesn’t happen without the generosity of donors,” Kiniry said. “So thank you so much to everyone who participated in our fundraising.”

The public can come see the red wolves at the exhibit that is now open to the public seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.