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Red wolves were nearly extinct, but they were saved by the Endangered Species Act. The Red Wolf Recovery Program grew the red wolf population to 130, but then the program was halted, and the population crashed to as few as 7 in the wild. Fortunately, the Red Wolf Recovery Program has recently resumed, but serious threats remain for the world’s most endangered canid.
First wolf bounties are awarded in North Carolina.
The red wolf is first distinguished and described by John Bartram.
Red wolf officially recognized as a distinct species.
Hunting and habitat destruction leads to extirpation of red wolves from Southern Atlantic states.
Only two viable red wolf populations remain in the wild: one in the Ozark region of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; and the other in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
The last red wolves are extirpated east of the Mississippi.
After being hunted to near extinction in the wild, red wolves are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Preservation Act.
A red wolf captive breeding program is initiated at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington.
The Endangered Species Act becomes federal law, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service begins to implement a Red Wolf Recovery Plan.
First litter of red wolf pups are born in a captive breeding program.
The first successful experimental release, tracking, and recapture of red wolves occurs on Bulls Island, South Carolina, which solidifies reintroduction techniques.
The last red wolves are removed from the wild. They are declared biologically extinct in the wild.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service establishes the experimental wild population of red wolves in eastern North Carolina. First mated pairs of red wolves reintroduced into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
First litter of red wolf pups are born in the wild at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
A local farmer shoots and kills a red wolf, claiming he thought it was a stray dog or coyote. He becomes the only person ever prosecuted for killing a red wolf. He is sentenced to giving a $2,000 donation and spend 32 hours building red wolf kennels.
An experimental red wolf release program begins at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The first red wolves are released at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, N.C.
The red wolf program is ended at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service implements the first adaptive management plan to minimize coyote-wolf hybrids through removal and sterilization. The plan works, and within three years, only one hybrid litter is found.
Red wolves have the most successful pup season to date, with 11 dens and 55 pups.
The size of the wild population in North Carolina grows to an estimated 120 wolves. An additional 200 wolves are bred in captivity. Red wolves are heralded as one of the most successful carnivore reintroductions ever achieved.
The Red Wolf Recovery Program receives the North American Conservation Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The wild population of red wolves peaks at 120-130.
Shooting of red wolves increases.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission establishes rules to ban nighttime hunting and require permits for daytime hunting of coyotes in the five-county red wolf recovery area in eastern North Carolina.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commissions passes resolutions pressuring U.S. Fish and Wildlife to declare red wolves extinct in the wild and abandon all recovery efforts. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service suspends red wolf recovery activities, including reintroductions into the wild. The wild red wolf population plummets to 50-75 wolves.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces plans to remove most red wolves from the wild. The plan is met with overwhelming public backlash.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes a Species Status Assessment and 5-year review for the red wolf. The Service recommends continuing the endangered status of the red wolf under the Endangered Species Act.
Red wolf population declines to fewer than 30 wolves.
A congressionally-mandated National Academy of Sciences panel declares the red wolf to be a genetically distinct species, ensuring its continued protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Center for Biological Diversity releases a report outlining the urgent steps needed to reverse the red wolf’s sudden decline toward extinction. The Center also files litigation against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to revise its outdated red wolf recovery plan.
Only 7 known red wolves remain in the wild.
Conservation groups sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for halting the red wolf recovery program and violating the Endangered Species Act.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resumes the Red Wolf Recovery Program. The first red wolf pups are born in the wild since 2018.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes a revised Red Wolf Recovery Plan that recommends reintroducing 740 wolves to the wild and establishing two additional red wolf reintroduction sites.
The total red wolf population grows to 15, but three red wolves are killed by vehicle strikes in 6 months.
Red wolves are the most endangered canid on the planet. Their population dropped to as few as seven in the wild.
Red wolf breeding pairs are monogamous and mated pairs usually remain together for life.
Red wolves are slightly smaller than gray wolves and their fur often has a reddish hue.
Adult red wolves are taller, larger, and heavier than coyotes and can be distinguished by their longer legs, larger skulls, and more rounded eyes. Coyotes tend to have pointier muzzles.
Red wolves are social animals that live in packs of 5-8 animals consisting of a breeding adult pair and their offspring of different years.
Red wolves once roamed across the Eastern United States from Texas to Pennsylvania. Today, only one small population remains in eastern North Carolina.