This week marks the 37th anniversary of the red wolves’ return to the wild. On September 14, 1987, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a pair of male an female red wolves into the wild at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina.
Tens of thousands of red wolves once roamed Eastern North America, but they were hunted to near extinction by the 1960s. After the red wolf was declared an endangered species, efforts were initiated to locate and capture as many wild red wolves as possible. A remnant population of red wolves was found along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana. 17 red wolves were captured, and 14 of them became the founders of the captive breeding program, which continues to this day.
All of the wild and captive red wolves today are descendants of those initial 14 red wolves.
The first litter of red wolves born in captivity occurred in 1977. By 1987, enough red wolves were bred in captivity to begin a reintroduction program at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. On September 14, the cage doors swung open, and two red wolves loped out into the wild.
37 years later, red wolves are still living in the wild in eastern North Carolina. These persistent underdogs keep finding ways to survive. However, vehicle strikes are threatening to wipe out nearly four decades of success in the wild. 25% of the remaining wild population of red wolves has been killed by vehicle collisions since last year.
Fortunately, a solution is within reach: Wildlife crossings in the red wolves’ refuge can give this species a fighting chance. Learn more here.
