Reviving Red Wolves: Conservation Efforts to Restore an Endangered Species to the Wild

The journey of the red wolf from extinction in the wild to conservation poster child and back to the edge of extinction has been swift and remarkable.

Canis rufus, the only wolf species indigenous to the United States, once ranged from Texas to Long Island, New York. On two federal wildlife refuges in eastern North Carolina, the last native populations, numbering approximately two dozen animals, are clinging to life.

To safeguard the survival of the species in the field, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is updating its recovery plan. The plan, however, relies on private landowners to tolerate wolves, and history is not on the side of “America’s wolf.”

WHY WERE RED WOLFS DEEMED EXTINCT IN NATURE?

Under the Endangered Species Act of 1966, the red wolf was classified as “threatened with extinction” due to generations of slaughter, habitat loss, and human development pressure. The 1973 ratification of the Endangered Species Act resulted in the removal of the last known families from the coastlines of Texas and Louisiana and their placement in captive breeding programs. In 1980, the species was declared extinct in the wild.

After red wolves were reintroduced to the wild, what occurred?

By 1987, the captive population of Canis rufus was deemed robust enough to attempt reintroduction into the wild. Both the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park established populations. The mountain experiment was halted due to low pup survival and failure to prosper, whereas the coastal population expanded from eight to approximately 120 individuals by 2012.

WHY DID THE WOLF POPULATION IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA COLLABORATE?

The combination of vehicle collisions and gunfire, interbreeding between wolves and invasive coyotes, and pressure from private landowners prompted Fish and Wildlife to suspend the release of captive wolves. Conservationists sued the agency, claiming it had abandoned its duty under the Endangered Species Act. There were as few as seven known wolves in the wild before the agency resumed captive-bred releases.

HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN A COYOTE AND A RED WOLVERINE?

Red wolves are significantly larger than coyotes, weighing up to 80 pounds (36,2 kilograms) versus 35 pounds (15,8 kilograms) for the largest coyotes in the region, according to Joe Madison, North Carolina manager for the Red Wolf Recovery Program. The skulls of wolves are also larger, with broader muzzles. “Red wolves often appear to be walking on stilts because their legs are so long,” Madison says, adding that they also move differently across the landscape. Wolves meander in the middle of the road, whereas coyotes prefer to slink along the edges of forests and brush. “They are aware that they are the top predator,” he explains. They have the upper hand.

WHAT IS THE AGENCY DOING TO PREVENT A REPEATED FAILURE?

Fish and Wildlife has increased its efforts to educate the public about wolves by placing orange transmitters on them to prevent them from being confused with coyotes, erecting road signs warning motorists to drive cautiously, and partnering with private landowners to allow the wolves to share their property. They are sterilizing the local coyotes and euthanizing any coyote-wolf hybrids that are discovered.

IS IT EVER PERMITTED TO KILL A RED WOLFE?

Federal law prohibits the “intentional or deliberate” slaughter of a red wolf, although landowners are permitted to remove a “nuisance” wolf that attacks humans, livestock, or pets. The slaughter of wolves may also be permissible if it is “incidental” to legal activities, such as coyote trapping. Any slaughter must be reported to Fish and Wildlife within 24 hours. According to Madison, there have been no confirmed red wolf assaults on humans and only nine suspected attacks on agricultural animals or pets.

Source: ABC News