The Story of the American Red Wolf

Wolves are admired in many locations and often seen as a simple of the wild in North America. What many people don't realize is that there are several types of wolves and some of them have a shaky and scary future. Their past is long and complicated, but often very interesting. Maybe just as interesting as their beautiful coats and intelligent eyes. One such creature is the Red Wolf.

The Red Wolf once roamed the land from central Texas to Florida and as far north as Illinois and even New York on the East Coast. This beautiful animal got its name from its coat which can range from a cinnamon red to black with shades of tawny, brownish red, and gray mixed in. It has a light under belly and legs with a silvery forehead. While smaller then the Gray Wolf (the one that most people think of when they hear the word wolf) it is larger then the coyote. Of course, for years this was what excited researches about this animal. It was believed that with looks, size, and coloration between the Gray Wolf and the Coyote that this animal was a fertile offspring of the wolves and coyotes breeding. It was believed that this was the exact result of hybridization and evolution of a species.

However, it wasn't that simple. Those who wanted to conserve the Red Wolf continued to research the possibility that this was its own species. Some scientists believed that the blood evidence and fossil evidence suggested that the Red Wolf is its own species. In fact, they believe that the evidence suggests that this species has very few similarities within their genetics and fossil evidence suggests that this is the oldest canine of North America having shown up historically before the Ice Age 750,000 years ago. This would link this creature to some of the earliest canines and definitely the first in North America. It is now believed by most that some of these creatures went to Eurasia and gave rise to the Gray Wolf which later migrated back to North America.

No matter what its interesting distant past may share with us, one thing remains true. This animals is closely related to the Gray Wolf and the Coyote while remaining distinct in looks and behavior. It has some similar behaviors and is often seen in a similar light to both, which has hurt its chances of survival. This animal lives in small packs usually consisting of one adult couple and their offspring. Their offspring will live with them two to three years before reaching maturity and seeking out their own mates. This means that the pack could consist of two or three litters of pups at one time. A female Red Wolf usually has two to eight pups at one time, with many litters being two or three pups.

Human interaction has not been kind to the Red Wolf and through one means or another has caused major concerns. While this animal has adapted to industrial growth better then many, it has been hunted viciously because of the believed threat to livestock. However, the Red Wolf is shy and doesn't often get close enough to civilization to kill livestock. Additionally,the majority of its food remains rodents, rabbits, and raccoons with the occasional deer. This hunting drastically lowered populations in the last couple of hundred years though.

In 1930 the first subspecies Canis rufus floridanus announced as extinct. In 1970 a second subspecies, Canis rufus gregoryi, was announced as extinct leaving a single subspecies of Red Wolf remaining. By 1980 the Red Wolf was extinct in the wild and only remained in captivity. Today major works have been put in place to reintroduce the Red Wolf to the wild and several hundred animals have been released with some success. The major issue now is that the released Red Wolf is interbreeding with Coyote populations and it is possible that this animal will once again become extinct in the wild through hybridization. Conservation remains an ongoing battle with some success and a lot of expenses. Whether the future will find that the Red Wolf is extinct only time will tell, till then scientists will continue to try and figure out the answers for this beautiful animal and whether or not it is a hybrid or a species older then its relatives the Gray Wolf and the Coyote.