breeding program in
Tallahassee, FL.
Red Wolf
Canis rufus
The red wolf is a smaller and a more slender cousin of the gray wolf. It is gray-black, with a reddish cast that gives it the color for which it is named.
Height: About 26 inches at shoulders
Length: 4.5-5.5 feet long (including
the tail)
Weight: 50-80 lbs
Lifespan: 6-7 years in the wild; up to 15 years in captivity
Diet
The red wolf’s diet consists primarily of small mammals such as rabbits and rodents. Also known to eat insects, berries and occasionally deer.
Population
Almost hunted to the brink of extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rounded up fewer than 20 pure red wolves to be bred in captivity in 1980. As of 2007, approximately 207 captive red wolves reside at 38 captive breeding facilities across the United States. Thanks to these programs, more than 100 red wolves currently live in the wild.
Range
Historically, red wolves ranged throughout the southeastern United States from Pennsylvania to Florida and as far west as Texas. Today, wild populations roam more than 1.7 million acres throughout northeastern North Carolina, including Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Behavior
Red wolves are primarily nocturnal (active at night), and communicate by scent marking, vocalizations (including howling), facial expressions and body postures.
Shy and secretive, red wolves hunt alone or in small packs -- complex social structures that include the breeding adult pair (the alpha male and female) and their offspring. Red wolves tend to form pair-bonds for life.
Size of the pack varies with the size of available prey populations. A
hierarchy of dominant and subordinate animals within the pack helps it to
function as a unit. Dens are often located in hollow trees, stream banks and
sand knolls.
Reproduction
Mating Season Late winter
Gestation 60-63 days.
Litter size
2-8 pups
Threats
Threats to the red wolf include habitat loss due to human development, negative attitudes that hinder restoration, severe weather, deaths by motor vehicles, and illegal killings. Interbreeding between coyote and red wolf populations has remained a constant threat to the recovery of this imperiled species.
Legal Status/Protection
* Endangered Species Act
Status: Endangered,
with special regulations in designated areas
* The Endangered Species Act requires the US federal government to identify species threatened with extinction, identify habitat they need to survive, and help protect both. In doing so, the Act works to ensure the basic health of our natural ecosystems and protect the legacy of conservation we leave to our children and grandchildren.
How You Can Help
- Help red wolves and other wildlife by adopting a red wolf today at our Wildlife Adoption Center.
- Take Action for Wildlife at our Wildlife Action Center.
For additional information
- Visit Defenders' Southeast Wolves Recovery pages for more information about what Defenders is doing to help.
- The Red Wolf Coalition
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Red Wolf Recovery Project
- Field Trip Earth: Red Wolves of Alligator River
