WolfCry

Habits and Reproduction: Red wolves roam in smaller packs than gray wolves. Most times the Red wolf pack consists of an adult pair and their young offspring. Adults mate between February and March of every year. Two to three pups are born during April or May. Both males and females help raise their young. When the young are about 6 months old they are mature enough to leave home.

Geographic Range: Southeast and South Central United States. Early this century the Red wolf lived as far north as Pennsylvania, as far south as Florida and as west as central Texas.

Biome: Temperate deciduous forest

Habitat: The last remaining Red wolves live in coastal prairie and marsh areas. Red wolves need between 10 and 100 square miles of habitat to hunt and live.

Diet: Red wolves prefer to eat white-tailed deer and raccoon, but will eat any available small animal.

IUCN Status: ENDANGERED

Pure Red wolves are thought to be extinct in the wild.

Threats to Survival: Three problems threaten the future of the Red wolf – the loss of habitat, the hunting of wolves, and Red wolves mating with coyotes. The expansion of agriculture, logging and human settlement cleared the forest home of Red wolves. Between 1900 – 1920 Red wolves were hunted because they preyed on cattle. As the population of Red wolves declined, coyotes expanded into its territory. Today the Red wolf population is under 300 captive animals in zoos and captive breeding facilities. Red wolves have been reintroduced at the alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Facts:

The Red wolf is the most endangered wolf in the world.

The red wolf (Canis rufus) was listed as endangered in 1967 under the provisions of the Endangered Species Preservation Act.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service captured the remaining 17 red wolves and brought them into captivity, and began a captive breeding program with the hope of one day returning them to the wild.

In 1987 four pair of captive born red wolves were released into Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina. In 1988, the first wild red wolf litter was born at Alligator

River.

Since 1987 the red wolf recovery area has expanded and now comprises about 1.5 million acres throughout five counties, including three national wildlife refuges, a Department of Defense bombing range, other public and private lands.

Currently there are:

Approximately 160 red wolves live in 37 captive breeding facilities around the country and approximately 4 red wolves reside at two island propagation sites.

Approximately 100 red wolves live in the wild in northeastern North Carolina and all but two have been born in the wild. Over 50 of those animals wear radio-tracking collars.

At least 281 pups have been born in the wild over four generations since the program's inception in 1987.