The Red Wolf is one of the lesser known wolf species native to North America.  They once roamed throughout much of the southeastern United States but have been eliminated from almost all of their natural range.

DESCRIPTION

Red wolves average between 55 and 80 pounds, somewhat smaller than the better known gray wolf, but larger than the coyote which it resembles.  Red wolves also have a more slender build and longer legs than gray wolves.  Although many red wolves have a reddish cast to their fur, some do not.  The general coloration is a blend of cinnamon-brown, black, and grayish-brown.  Males are generally larger than females.

HABITS AND HABITATS

Not as much is known about the habits of the red wolf as is with many of the other wild canids.  It is believed that they do not form large packs like gray wolves.  Although they are capable of taking down large prey such as deer, most of their food consists of smaller animals such as rabbits, raccoons, rodents, and birds.  Red wolves seem to be most active at night.  Preferred habitats of the red wolf include large amounts of upland and swamp forests with thick cover.  Red wolves mate in early spring, with the pups being born in late spring after a gestation period of 60 to 63 days.  Dens may be enlarged burrows made by other animals, hollow trees, or other secluded sites.  Both the male and female wolves care for the pups.  Red wolves have been known to interbreed with coyotes producing hybrid young, a trait which has threatened this species’ survival in the wild.

HISTORY

Like other wolf species, the red wolf has been persecuted by man because of our fear, hatred, and misconceptions of these large predators. Wolves of all kinds are often viewed as threats to domestic livestock and even to ourselves, though there has never been a documented case of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human being in North America.  Like other predators, the red wolf maintains the strength of its prey by primarily taking the sick, old, and weak animals.  Originally there were three red wolf subspecies at the time of European settlement of this country.  Since that time, two of these subspecies have been eliminated by man.  Red wolves were shot, trapped, and poisoned and their habitat was cleared for use by man. The last remaining red wolves in the wild were compressed into into parts of Louisiana and Texas.  Red wolves were facing extinction when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to try and save the red wolf.  During the late 1960s and mid 1970s, red wolves were trapped in an attempt to start a captive breeding program for later restocking into suitable habitats.  By 1980, the red wolf was declared officially extinct in the wild.  Because wild populations of red wolves has dropped so low, they had begun to interbreed with coyotes.  After captive breeding and careful genetic testing of the approximately 400 trapped animals and their offspring, it was determined that only 17 of them were still genetically pure red wolves.  From these, 14 were used to begin a captive breeding program.  In 1986, an experimental reintroduction of red wolves into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina took place.  Since then, red wolves have been released in several other locations including Mississippi, Florida, and Tennessee. However, currently the only wild populations are in five counties in northeast North Carolina.

MEET OUR RED WOLVES

The Nature Center is part of a captive breeding program to raise red wolves for species survival. We currently have one male and two females. Our male red wolf came here in 2008 on loan from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The female adult came to the Nature Center in 2002. She is on loan from a facility in Manteo, NC. Both adults are 11 years old. On May 5, 2009, the female gave birth to a single facility. She is one of seven pups born in captivity this year from three different litters.

INFORMATION LINKS

International Wolf Center
NOVA: Wild Wolves
Timber Wolf Information Network

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©2002 WNC Nature Center