Red Wolf

The Red Wolf is a cousin to the Gray Wolf. The Red Wolf was actually deemed extinct in the wild in 1980. There were, luckily, some Red Wolves were still in captivity, twenty to be exact. Wildlife conservationists increased the number of Red Wolves in captivity to 207, and today there are about 100 living in the wild. A success story, yes, but the factors that caused the Red Wolf to become so endangered are still present today, in that their hunting ground has been severely depleted. Luckily there are wildlife preserves that allow these wolves to live in their natural habitat, though protected from urban sprawl.

It is estimated that red wolves live four years in the wild and up to 14 years in captivity.
Red wolves have several coat colors including black, brown, gray, and yellow. The reddish coats for which they are named was typical of some Texan populations.
As medium-sized canids, red wolves are smaller and more slender than their gray wolf cousins, but larger than coyotes. Adult males weigh 60 to 80 pounds. Females are smaller and weigh 40 to 60 pounds.
Red wolves prefer to live in forests, swamps and coastal prairies. Dens are often located in hollow trees, stream banks and sand knolls.
The red wolf's diet consists primarily of small mammals such as rabbits and rodents but also includes insects, berries and occasionally deer. Shy and secretive, red wolves hunt alone or in small family packs. The red wolf is primarily nocturnal (active at night).
Historically, red wolves ranged throughout the southeastern United States from Pennsylvania to Florida and as far west as Texas. Today, only a few wolves roam free in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.