The Secret World of Red Wolves: The Fight to Save North America's Other Wolf

"The history of this species, the red wolf ( Canis rufus ), is a very interesting example of the importance and relationship between taxonomy and politics in the conservation of some species. The red wolf is considered as a species of wolf, native to the southeastern US, closely related to the grey wolf, but distinct, and listed as ‘critically endangered.’ However, some authors have recently suggested that it may be nothing more than a hybrid between coyotes and grey wolves. If so, it will lose its conservation status and protection, given that US legislation does not protect hybrids, leading to the extinction of this animal. “This book is really a must-read for anyone interested in North American ecology” This book explains this and much more. It is easily the most complete book written on these wolves. It summarizes the red wolf from its origins to current research, explores efforts to re-establish it, and current and future threats to the species. The book is divided into three main parts: ‘The Red Wolf Today,’ ‘The Red Wolf Yesterday’ and ‘The Red Wolf Tomorrow.’ Get the weekly Five Books newsletter In the first section, written as a first person narrative, Beeland describes the efforts to re-establish a population of wild wolves in northeastern North Carolina. We meet the biologists and some of the red wolves themselves. This book is really a must-read for anyone interested in North American ecology, and readers will have a much better appreciation for this species. The book is both scientifically compelling and accessible to all. Hopefully, new conservationists will champion the recovery of red wolves after reading this book. As the author says, the story of the red wolf was waiting to be told, and it is a very interesting and tragic story at that. The red wolf was once found throughout forested regions of the American southeast. As a result of aggressive predator control programs and the loss of forest habitat, by 1970 its population had declined to less than 100 wolves and was confined to a small area of coastal Texas and Louisiana. Early recovery attempts were largely unsuccessful and the remaining wolves began mating with coyotes. As a result, the number of pure red wolves decreased and further contributed to the species decline. In 1973, in a final attempt to save the species, efforts were initiated to capture as many wild red wolves as possible. 17 pure red wolves were captured by biologists and became the founders of a captive breeding program. In 1980, the last remaining wild red wolves were brought into captivity and the species was declared extinct in the wild. By 1987, enough red wolves were bred in captivity to begin a restoration program in North Carolina. Since then, the experimental population area has slowly expanded to include three national wildlife refuges. In 2003, approximately 100 red wolves existed in the wild, but the wild population is once again dwindling to a mere 30 or 40, amongst political controversy and pressure from a number of landowners to be allowed to shoot the wolves on their land. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Although the red wolf recovery program once served as a model for the successful recovery of wolves, political barriers seriously threatened the continued existence of this endangered species. In 2014, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) stopped reintroducing red wolves into the wild and began issuing kill permits to landowners. In a recent proposal announced in 2016, the agency called for placing most of the last remaining wild red wolves in captivity. In 2018, USFWS confirmed what has been evident: the wild population is in crisis and could go extinct within eight years. Termination of the recovery program will inevitably result in the loss of the last population of red wolves, rendering the species ‘extinct in the wild’ in the next few years."