The red wolf (Canis rufus) is a canine native to the southeastern United States, intermediate in size between the coyote and the gray wolf. Adults measure roughly 136 to 165 centimetres including the tail and weigh 20 to 39 kilograms, with a tawny to grayish, often reddish coat, long slender limbs and proportionately large ears. It is monogamous, dens in hollow tree trunks, along stream banks or in abandoned burrows, and bears litters in spring. Its status as a species has been contested for nearly a century: the American Society of Mammalogists treated it as its own species in 2021, while the Catalogue of Life classifies it as a subspecies of the gray wolf. Predator control, habitat destruction and hybridization with coyotes brought it close to extinction. It was declared extinct in the wild in 1980, reintroduced to North Carolina from 1987, and the IUCN lists it as critically endangered.
Facts
Classification
Population Trend System (Realm) ThreatsBiological Resource Use 3 ThreatsInvasive and Other Problematic Species, Genes and Diseases 3 Relationship to People Living or Extinct Conservation Status Body Size Band Activity Pattern Comparison
NatureServe RankG1 Critically Imperiled 2 CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
Source Red wolf (Wikipedia)
Source Red wolf (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Red wolf (Wikipedia)Conservation, captive breedingQuote, Conservation, captive breeding
From 1973 to 1980, the USFWS captured 400 animals from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Red wolf (Wikipedia)ConservationQuote, Conservation
In 1987, the captive animals were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) on the Albemarle Peninsula in North Carolina
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Red wolf (Wikipedia)Conservation, captive breedingQuote, Conservation, captive breeding
From 1973 to 1980, the USFWS captured 400 animals from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Red wolf (Wikipedia)LeadQuote, Lead
The red wolf (Canis rufus) is a canine native to the southeastern United States.
Sources
1. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Canis rufus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status, IUCN Red List
Critically Endangered
Conservation Status
Currently, 200+ red wolves exist, and reintroductions
Food Habits
Rodents, ungulates, and other small mammals are the main prey of red wolves.
Habitat
inhabited mountains, lowland forests, and wetlands.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Red wolves eat many rodents, thus helping to control the populations of these pests
Behavior
are primarily a nocturnal species.
Lifespan/Longevity
Most individuals live to about 4 years, though one captive individual was recorded at 14 years old
Physical Description, average mass
Average mass 23.5 kg
View the Source 2. NatureServe: Canis rufus (Red Wolf), NatureServe Explorer
NatureServeConservation status, global rank
"grank": "G1"
Conservation status, global rank reasons
The species is rapidly declining due to increasing threats from anthropogenic mortality and Coyote hybridization/introgression.
View the Source 3. Red wolf (Wikipedia)
Lead
The red wolf (Canis rufus) is a canine native to the southeastern United States.
Conservation
In 1987, the captive animals were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) on the Albemarle Peninsula in North Carolina
Conservation, captive breeding
From 1973 to 1980, the USFWS captured 400 animals from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
Conservation, coyote interbreeding
Interbreeding with the coyote has been recognized as a threat affecting the restoration of red wolves.
Conservation, 21st century status
This decline has been linked to shooting and poisoning of wolves by landowners
Conservation, captive breeding, cites appendix
It is not listed in the CITES Appendices of endangered species.
In Biome: Wetlands, Range and habitat
The last naturally occurring population used coastal prairie marshes, swamps, and agricultural fields used to grow rice and cotton.
In Biome: Temperate Forest, Range and habitat
Some evidence shows the species was found in highest numbers in the once extensive bottom-land river forests and swamps of the southeastern US.
Child Taxon Of: Canis, Description
The red wolf's appearance is typical of the genus Canis.
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