Conservation Status- Critical

The Red Wolf (Canis rufus) is the rarest and most endangered of all wolves. It is thought that its original distribution included much of eastern North America, where Red Wolves were found from Pennsylvania in the east, Florida in the south, and Texas in the west. On the basis of further study, its historic range is now thought to have extended further north into the northeastern USA and extreme eastern Canada. In the last century, however, persecution, habitat destruction, and hybridization with Coyotes have brought the Red Wolf to the brink of extinction. Only about 270 wolves remain.

Traditionally, three subspecies of Red Wolf are recognised. Two of these subspecies are extinct. Canis rufus floridanus has been extinct since 1930 and Canis rufus rufus was declared extinct by 1970. Canis rufus gregoryi, the surviving subspecies, was extirpated in 1980, although that status was changed to critical when 100 wolves were reintroduced in North Carolina.

In 1987 approximately 100 were reintroduced into the wild as the 1st island propagation project in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge off the coast of North Carolina. In 1989 the 2nd island propagation project initiated with release of a population on Horn Island of the Mississippi coast. This population was moved in 1998 because of a likelihood of encounters with humans. The 3rd island propagation project introduced a population on St. Vincent Island, Florida offshore between Cape San Blas and Apalachicola, Florida in 1990 and in 1997 the 4th island propagation programme introduced a population to Cape St. George Island, Florida south of Apalachicola, Florida. There are 170 in captivity. Historical habitats included forests, swamps and coastal prairies, where it was an apex predator.

 

 

Habits & Social Structure:
Red wolves are shy and wary creatures. They prefer to hunt alone or in small family groups; pack sizes are smaller than those of their grey cousins, consisting often of one adult pair and their offspring.

As in other canids pair-bonding is strong and red wolves mate for life. They mate yearly and two or three pups are usually born in the spring. Both parents help raise the offspring who are mature enough to leave behind parental support at six months of age.

Their diet consists of small animals, including rabbits, raccoons and rodents. They occasionally bring down deer with the help of other red wolves and they supplement their diet with insects and berries.