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Red wolf historic range. USFWS
The red wolf’s historical range stretched from modern-day Texas eastward to the Florida peninsula and north as far as southern New England. Scientists continue to study this subject as well as the evolutionary origins of the red wolf.
In 1791, the red wolf is first described by naturalist William Bartram, who compared the wolves he observed in Florida to gray wolves in the North.
Naturalists John James Audubon and John Bachman provide descriptions of the red wolf, naming it Canis lupus rufus.
Mammalogist Vernon Bailey first refers to the red wolf as Canis rufus, a distinct species, not a subspecies of the gray wolf.
Zoologist Edward Goldman conducts comprehensive skull studies in the Southeast and determines these skulls belong to the species Canis rufus.
Concern arises among biologists and wildlife managers over imminent extinction of the red wolf due to habitat loss, government extermination programs, hybridization with coyotes, and disease.
Red wolf listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Preservation Act.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service begins intensive study of red wolves in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana.
Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, WA initiates captive breeding program to save the species from extinction.
Endangered Species Act becomes federal law. The Red Wolf Recovery Program is initiated, and implementation begins. Researchers capture wild canids in eastern TX and western LA. Only 17 are determined to be pure red wolves, and these animals become the founders of all future generations of red wolves.
First litter of red wolf pups is born at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
Red wolves are successfully released on Bulls Island in Cape Romain National Refuge, SC. Bulls Island becomes one of the island propagation sites developed to acclimate captive-born red wolves to the wild.
The last known wild red wolves are captured in LA and TX for the captive breeding program with the goal of future reintroductions into the wild. The red wolf is declared officially extinct in the wild.
AAZA Red Wolf Species Survival Plan is completed, and the Red Wolf Recovery Plan is revised and approved. The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) is established on northeastern North Carolina’s Albemarle Peninsula.
Four pairs of captive-born red wolves are released in the ARNWR. This site is chosen because of low human density, abundant prey base and absence of coyotes. Bulls Island is established as an official island propagation site to acclimate red wolves to the wild before mainland release in northeastern North Carolina.
First wild litter of red wolf pups born at the ARNWR recovery site.
A second red wolf restoration project is started in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Controversy over a challenge to the red wolf’s validity as a distinct species arises from a genetic study by Robert Wayne at UCLA.
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is established near ARNWR, later becoming an addition to the wild red wolf recovery area.
Second-generation wild red wolf pups born in the wild at ARNWR.
Red wolves are released at Pocosin Lakes NWR, and releases begin in the Great Smoky Mountains NP
First wild pups are born in the Great Smoky Mountains NP.
Petition filed to delist the red wolf based on research suggesting the animal is of hybrid origin. A group is formed to oppose red wolves on private land, and a law goes into effect allowing for the trapping and killing of red wolves on private property in two of the five counties in the red wolf recovery area. A revised federal regulation goes into effect to address private landowner concerns. The controversy over the scientific classification of the red wolf continues
Research by Ronald Nowak and Nicholas Federoff concludes that the red wolf is not a hybrid but a distinct species, separate from the gray wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains the taxonomic status of the red wolf as a valid species. The arrival of coyotes by natural range expansion in the red wolf recovery area arouses concern over potential hybridization.
Great Smoky Mountains NP reintroduction project ended due to low pup survival and the inability of red wolves to establish home ranges within the park boundaries because of the wolves’ emigration to lower elevations with greater prey availability.
Potential hybridization with coyotes identified as the most imminent threat to red wolf recovery.
Adaptive Management Plan implemented to address the hybridization threat. This includes the sterilization of coyotes that hold territories with a red wolf partner but that do not breed and produce hybrid offspring.
First pup fostering attempt is made with 2 newborn pups born in captivity, placed in the den of a wild red wolf mother. It is the first of successful fostering attempts in the years to follow. GPS tracking collars are deployed on some wolves for the first time.
Increase in red wolf mortality due to gunshot.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) temporary rule allows night hunting of coyotes with lights throughout the state, thus putting red wolves at risk in the 5-county recovery region. The Southern Environmental Law Center files suit on behalf of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute. The court suspends night hunting of coyotes within the 5-county restoration area.
The need for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-commit to its obligation under the Endangered Species Act becomes the focus of the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute. The NCWRC, the state wildlife agency, issues a permanent rule allowing coyote hunting on private land, day or night, day hunting on public lands and night hunting with a permit.
The Wildlife Management Institute implements an independent evaluation of the Eastern North Carolina Red Wolf Population (NEP).
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission issues resolution calling for the Red Wolf Recovery Program to be terminated and red wolves delisted. All red wolf reintroductions into the wild are suspended along with the management protocols (coyote sterilizations, pup fostering, etc.) while the USFWS conducts “additional research” into the feasibility of recovering the red wolf and evaluates the Red Wolf Recovery Plan.
Southern Environmental Law Center files suit against the USFWS resulting in an injunction against the take (killing or trapping) of red wolves by private landowners unless the wolves pose an imminent threat to people or property.
Plans approved to expand captive facilities.
A Species Status Assessment and 5-year review for the red wolf completed.
Red wolf approved as an AZA SAFE species (Saving Animals From Extinction)
Red Wolf Center in Columbia, NC reopens through a partnership with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Refuge Association
Service proposes new 10(j) rule for Eastern NC Red Wolf Population which results in strong public resistance.
Federal court ruling places a permanent injunction against the taking of red wolves without demonstrating that the red wolf in question is a threat to human safety or the safety of livestock or pets.
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute hosts Red Wolf Science Workshop
National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) confirm the red wolf is a distinct species, thus ending the legal debate over the red wolf’s classification.
NASEM contracted by the USFWS to 1) assist in selecting proposals for a study to determine the taxonomy of unidentified wild canids in southern Louisiana, and 2) develop a research strategy to examine evolutionary relationships between ancient and contemporary red wolves.
$257,000 Recovery Challenge Grant awarded to Conservation Centers for Species Survival (C2S2) to build new enclosures (I.e., expand red wolf captive facilities)
Albemarle Peninsula Collaborative Canid Conservation team is reinitiated and consists of NCWRC and USFWS personnel.
Implementation of Adaptive Management Plan with its proven recovery strategies resumes.
Quarterly Red Wolf Partnership Coordination Calls begin.
$257,000 Recovery Challenge Grant awarded to C2S2 to build new enclosures for red wolves.
USFWS begins the process for updating the Red Wolf Recovery Plan.
USFWS sued by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Animal Welfare Institute for violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Court orders the USFWS to draft a plan to release captive red wolves into the Eastern North Carolina Red Wolf Population (RWP) in consultation with scientists and experts in the field.
Releases from captivity and pup fostering resume.
$257,000 Recovery Challenge Grant awarded to C2S2 to build new enclosures for red wolves.
USFWS submits a release plan to the court in March, followed by an amended plan in April.
A new Red Wolf Recovery Team is assembled to update the current Red Wolf Recovery Plan
USFWS withdraws 2018 proposed new 10(j) rule for Eastern North Carolina Red Wolf Population.
Draft revised recovery plan available for review and comment – September 28, 2022
Litter of 6 red wolf pups born in the wild.
Litter of 5 red wolf pups born in the wild.
