Red wolf (Canis rufus)
Species: Red wolf (Canis rufus)
Status: Critically Endangered (CR)
Interesting Fact: Breeding pairs of red wolves mate for life and usually live in small packs with their offspring, who help rear subsequent litters of pups.
More information:
A smaller relative of the grey wolf, the red wolf is characterised by the reddish colour of its fur, with this colour being most apparent on its neck and legs. The red wolf is most active at dawn and dusk, when it hunts mammals such as rabbits, deer, raccoons and small rodents. It is also reported to feed on carrion. Breeding pairs typically have litters of three to six pups, and all the members of the pack help to rear the young. The red wolf inhabits swamps, forests and wetlands, and was once common throughout the eastern and south-central United States.
The red wolf is one of the rarest canids in the world. Extensive persecution and forest clearance caused a dramatic decline in its population, while hybridisation with the closely related coyote posed a further threat. Despite being designated as an endangered species in 1967, the red wolf became extinct in the wild by 1980. Fortunately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had already begun efforts to conserve this charismatic predator, and the last few wild individuals had been taken into captivity to start a captive breeding programme. The red wolf has now been reintroduced to a remote part of North Carolina, and as of 2010 the reintroduced population numbered around 130 individuals. The species is fully protected within its current range, but education programmes will be important in maintaining public support for this large carnivore. As a top predator, the red wolf can help control populations of deer, raccoons and small rodents, and therefore plays a vital role in the ecosystems it inhabits.
Find out more about the red wolf at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Red Wolf Recovery Program and the Red Wolf Coalition.
See images and videos of the red wolf on ARKive.
Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author
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