Altina Wildlife Park has welcomed three Maned Wolf Pups from its conservation program which aims to save the endangered species

The new litter was born in late July and includes two boys named Raul and Eberardo, and a girl named Renada.

The new pups are part of a conservation program started by Altina Wildlife Park in 2009 when there were only five Maned Wolves left in Australia.

The program has since helped grow that number to 30, which Altina animal and operations manager Rebecca Surian said helped ensure the species' continuity.

Mrs Surian, who is the only Maned Wolf studbook coordinator in Australasia, said it was important the program showed results to allow species conservation to continue.

"We didn't want to lose them in the country," she said. "Having five wolves left meant it would be very hard for Australia and New Zealand to import that species again once you lose it.

"It's harder to prove you want to bring in an animal to save them if they're not already here to save."

Mrs Surian said Altina's successful partnership with overseas conservation programs had helped the zoo continue breeding the wolves, which are native to South America.

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This included the importing of the litters' parents, with the father Pepe being from Sweden and mother Tepin hailing from the US.

"There's always lots of research happening and we're working hand-in-hand with the European Endangered Species Program to keep this species moving forward," Mrs Surian explained.

"Being an island like Australia, we need to do the best with what we've got."

Mrs Surian said the three pups were already growing and were expected to weigh roughly 30 kilos each at full growth in 18 months time.

She also said further in-house research was being undertaken to establish more efficient means of breeding the wolves.

This included artificial insemination which would help establish successful breeding practices between two wolves in different states.

"Conservation is so important and we're excited to keep moving forward to save the species worldwide," Mrs Surian said.

"It would make it very hard to keep working in conservation if it weren't for these little wins."

The WWF estimates less than 24,000 Maned Wolves currently remain in the wild.

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