Are Red Wolves Hybrids? No, And That’s A Critical Distinction For The World’s Rarest Wolf
From IFLScience.com:
One of the world’s rarest mammals can be found in America. Known as red wolves, they are among the rarest in the world, but there was a time when their range reached from southeastern Texas to central Pennsylvania. However, as of August 2025, the Wolf Conservation Center reports there are just 18 known to remain in the wild in North Carolina.
Known to science as Canis rufus, the species has come under scrutiny in the past, with some questioning if it really represents a unique species or if it is, in fact, a hybrid between gray wolves (C. lupus) and coyotes (C. latrans). So, what does the science say?
