Southeast Wolf Background and Recovery


Background

The red wolf, a smaller and more slender cousin of the timber wolf, originally roamed throughout the eastern United States as far north as Pennsylvania and as far west as central Texas. Like the timber wolf, the red wolf was persecuted relentlessly by people who mistakenly believed it posed a threat to livestock and humans. Under the guise of "predator control," farmers, ranchers and hunters shot, trapped, poisoned and clubbed to death these cinnamon-colored canids.

By 1967, the red wolf was considered an endangered species. In an effort to prevent the red wolf’s final demise, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) created a Species Survival Plan for red wolves, ensuring the survival of the s pecies faced with extinction. FWS captured the remaining red wolves, which numbered fewer than 20. These animals were successfully bred in captivity and their numbers increased steadily over the years. Although declared extinct in the wild in 1980, there were enough captive animals by 1987 to begin a reintroduction program to return them to their rightful place in the wild. It was the first reintroduction in the United States of a species that was officially extinct in the wild.


Recovery

Captive animals were first released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina, with later releases in nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. In addition, several of the area’s private landowners agreed to allow the wolves to live on their property.

Today, more than  100 wild red wolves roam more than 1.7 million acres within northeastern North Carolina. Zoos continue to breed red wolves in captivity. The recovery population goals outlined in the Red Wolf Recovery/Species Survival Plan call for the establishment of 220 red wolves in the wild and 330 in captivity along with the establishment and maintenance of at least three reintroduction projects within the historic range of the red wolf. In 1991, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was identified as a suitable release site, but red wolves were not able to survive there and FWS relocated the wolves from this region. Additional habitat suitable for red wolves must be identified in order to expand the recovery program to other areas.