First, a little background. I personally love wolves, I have for years, it's just that weather has always taken a priority over them (was a weather nut first
). I knew about the Gray Wolves (Canis lupus), and have a National Geographic tape on the reintroduction of the Gray Wolf to Yellowstone. Being into history, I also looked up extinct species of wolves and ones that are considered endangered...living in coastal North Carolina, I can't be near any populations of wolf, unless they are living in a zoo or some other form of captivity nearby, right? No...of course not, crazy! That's what I thought, too.Then earlier last year, I learned there is actually a species of wolf that is thriving in northeastern NC, though they only number around 100 individual members total. This population is the ONLY known wild population of this particular wolf (known formally as Canis rufus, or the Red Wolf), in the world...it is also the only other species of wolf (besides the Gray Wolf) in North America.
Here are some quick facts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which spearheads the current ongoing recovery effort (the Red Wolf was driven to extinction in the wild in the 1970s due to hunting, only 17 living members were captured to start the very first breeding program, only 14 of those 17 were deemed genetically as true red wolves, interbreeding with coyotes was occurring due to habitat sharing and low population numbers...and still is an issue to an extent today...that program then carried over to the Gray Wolves...and the release of the Gray Wolf in Yellowstone, in the 1990s, was modeled after the release of the Red Wolf, in the late 1980s, in NE NC).
Current red wolf facts (as of April 7, 2010):
* There are two species of wolves in North America: gray wolf and red wolf.
* Historically the red wolf roamed as a top predator throughout the southeastern United States.
* Aggressive predator control programs and clearing of forested habitat reduced the red wolf population to 17 wolves by 1980.
* In compliance with the Endangered Species Act, the first red wolf recovery plan was completed in 1973; implementation begins.
* Red wolves were declared extinct in the wild between 1980-87.
* Restoration began with 4 pairs of red wolves released into the ARNWR in 1987.
* Today 100-120 red wolves call northeastern North Carolina home. This is the world's only wild population of red wolves.
* There are over 40 Species Survival Plan captive facilities in the United States. Many have viewing opportunities visit: http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/rwfacilities.html
* Restoration area consists of 1.7 million public and private acres in Dare, Tyrrell, Hyde, Beaufort and Washington Counties.
* Approximately 20 packs live in the wild in northeastern North Carolina. A pack consists of an adult pair and often pups.
* Pups born annually in April and May. In 2009, there were 41 pups born among 11 litters in the wild population - PLUS 4 fostered pups. In the captive population, there were 12 pups born among 3 litters.
* Life span in the wild: 7-8 years / in captivity: up to 15 years.
* Red wolves are wary animals and rarely seen in the wild.
* Red Wolf Recovery Program is located in Manteo, NC, at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) office.
Source:
http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/
As of last quarter's report (January - March of 2010), there are 78 known wolves (i.e. collared wolves they can track) and 29 packs (with a total of 67 of those 78 wolves...the other 11 are not known to be associated with any of the packs.
Quarterly Report: http://redwolves.com/web/downloads/usfw ... 010_03.pdf
I also came across a nonprofit coalition (the Red Wolf Coalition) that works closely with the USFWS, and they have an adoption program where if you donate a certain amount of money, you'll get a tag put on one of the tracking collars before it is put onto a wild red wolf. Once the wolf dies, assuming they can locate the remains (to determine the cause of death), the tag will be taken off and sent to your house. I decided to go that route, and the wolf my tag is on is a yearling.
"We got the latest adoption tag out yesterday on a male wolf, # 11748, born last April '09 to the Pocosin Lakes pack. He was captured 2 days ago in a trap still within the natal home range and weighed in at 66 pounds."
The last information the USFWS had on that pack was very short and consisted of:
Pocosin Lakes Pack (3 collared wolves)
The Pocosin Lakes pack consists of a radio-collared breeding pair (1301M, 1358F) and one radio-collared pup (1748M) born in 2009. The pup was captured, collared, and released in March.
1748M is my wolf.
It will be interesting to observe him over the next few years, and hopefully he'll disperse and start his own pack one day!
Link to the Red Wolf Coalition:
http://redwolves.com/web/index.html
Mission:
The Red Wolf Coalition advocates for the long-term survival of red wolf populations by teaching about the red wolf and by fostering public involvement in red wolf conservation.
It has come to my attention recently that the Red Wolf Coalition is in need of some donations (being a nonprofit organization, they run off of donations, just like this site does). They plan on building a rather large enclosure to house a few red wolves in a natural setting, so the general public is able to get glimpses of these elusive creatures. Where the Red Wolves live is filled with thick underbrush, forested, and swampy...and very difficult to see any wolves, very much different from the open spaces of Yellowstone where the bigger Gray Wolves live.
Link to one of the fundraiser pages:
http://www.crowdrise.com/enclosure/fund ... kimwheeler
Just like here, any amount will help out, even if it is just a couple dollars. I know everyone is stretched thin, just thought I'd pass this along, along with my story behind finding out there are wolves in NC, and that there were wolves all around the Southeastern states just as little as 100 or 150 years ago.
Red wolf in an enclosure, prior to release back into the wild:
