RED WOLF NON-ESSENTIAL EXPERIMENTAL POPULATION AREA
Washington CO.
Beaufort CO.
Tyrell CO.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com 29
WBM
A female red wolf crosses a field in the Alligator
River NWR in North Carolina.
Beaufort CO.
VA
NC
prey, which can include whitetail deer, raccoons, rabbits and rodents.
Adults can weigh between 45 and 80 pounds, standing about 26 inches tall
at the shoulder and approximately 4 feet long. They are mostly brown and buff
colored with some black on their backs and often a reddish color on the ears, head
and legs. They have wide heads with tall, pointed ears.
Red wolves are elusive and are most active at dusk and dawn. They live in packs
consisting of a family group of five to eight including a breeding adult pair and any
offspring. Older offspring assist in pup rearing, leaving the pack at 1 and 2 years old
to form their own packs.
They form lifelong bonds and mate only once a year in February. Pups are typi-cally
born in April or May.
Mortality among red wolves is most commonly attributed to gunshot. Each death
is investigated. A 2020 federal court ruling placed a permanent injunction against
the taking of red wolves without demonstrating a threat to human safety
or the safety of livestock or pets.
USFWS
NICOLE RANKIN/USFWS
USFWS RAYE NILIUS
Red wolves are observed and bred at the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge’s
Sewee Center in South Carolina. A litter of pups born at the Cape Romain NWR.
Hyde CO.
Pocosin
Lakes
NWR
Alligator
River
NWR
Dare Co.
Bombing
Range
Mattamuskeet
NWR
Swanquarter
NWR Cape Hatteras
National Seashore
Pea
Island
NWR
North
Carolina
Dare CO.
FEDERAL LAND
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Department of Defense National Park Service
SC