Jaspreet Pooni is a junior studying fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology, but perhaps what is most impressive about her is that she is a problem solver. She attended a Leopold Wildlife Club meeting where a guest speaker talked about the startling decline of the red wolf population. Now, she has started her own club called Wolves 4 Wolves in the hopes of conserving this species.

“It’s upsetting to me how unfair their circumstances are,” Pooni said. “People have a very negative view of red wolves, and they’ve just been given a very bad lot.”

Habitat loss and vehicle accidents were the initial cause of their dwindling numbers, and then the animals began to interbreed with coyotes, according to Pooni. This association with the more aggressive animal worsens the perception that most people already have of red wolves even though they would not tolerate coyotes if their population were at a more sustainable level.

“A very big part of what we hope to do is education,” Pooni said. “They don’t cause humans harm; there haven’t been any records of that. They’re predators, but they go out of their way to avoid humans. No one is realizing that these are very important predators in the environment.”

Once Pooni had realized the dire state of the red wolf population and the importance of halting its decline, she decided to recruit other students to help her in this endeavor. The first person that she reached out to for guidance was Christian Hunt, the guest speaker that had piqued her interest in the first place.

“He saw my interest and got me in contact with a woman who graduated from Clemson who had started Tigers for Tigers,” Pooni said. “She talked to me about starting something similar to that at State because we are the Wolfpack.”

Wolves 4 Wolves originated as a club to preserve all endangered wolf species just as Tigers for Tigers worked to preserve all endangered tiger species. Red wolves are critically endangered and local.

“It’s a really good cause,” Pooni said. “It’s something I can relate to, something that a lot of people can relate to. We are the Wolfpack — aside from you are a student at NC State, you are Wolves 4 Wolves.”

Shaefny Grays, assistant director of the College of Natural Resources, is currently serving as the club’s faculty adviser. She says that she is excited to see the club off to a great start and excited to aid in providing a solid foundation. However, she is not as involved with the content.

“That is one of the things we struggled with, was finding an adviser,” said Pooni. “Right now, our adviser is Ms. Shaefny Grays from the College of Natural Resources. She is interested in our ordeal, but she’s going to help me more on the logistics side.”

Because Wolves 4 Wolves is in its first semester, the short-term goals are simply to spread the word and build membership. Awareness is key, so this is what Pooni seeks to accomplish on campus.

“For the semester, we plan on taking things a little slow,” Pooni said. “We want to build our membership and educate as many people as possible.”

The first meeting will be in Withers Hall 232A on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m., and Pooni says that the meeting will mostly focus on explaining the red wolf situation to new members.

“We’ll be talking about red wolves,” said Pooni. “Simply explaining to our members and getting everyone up to speed on what their situation is, why their situation is the way it is and what we can do to help.”

After that, the meetings will feature many guest speakers that are involved in endangered species conservation in a more professional capacity. Pooni hopes that these guests will enlighten and inspire members as well as provide volunteering opportunities for them.

“I’ve been very happy with the response we’ve gotten, especially from outside organizations,” Pooni said. “I’ve contacted Pete Benjamin from the Wildlife Raleigh Ecological Services. He’s showed his support. I have Regina Mossotti from the Endangered Wolf Center. There are just a lot of people who are willing to help. They realize that these are very important animals.”

In the end, Pooni hopes that she can make a difference. This is the long-term goal of her club and something she hopes to accomplish through upcoming educational opportunities and eventual volunteering opportunities.

“In the end, we just hope to make a difference for the better for red wolves,” Pooni said.

Students that are interested in either joining the club or lending a helping hand to the red wolf conservation can contact the organization on their Facebook page at Wolves 4 Wolves at NC State or through its email at wolves4wolves@gmail.com.