(DURHAM) -- The red wolf population in North Carolina could gain some members soon. Sherry Samuels of the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham said a female wolf at the center may be expecting because of some recent behavior changes.

"She was digging a little more and burying food and it looked like maybe she had put on a little weight.  One of the keepers noticed that some of her belly hair was missing and right before red wolves give birth they'll pull off the hair from her belly so that her teats are exposed," said Samuels.

Once common in the southeastern United States, red wolves are one of the most endangered canine species in the world, according to the Recovery Program website.