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For Immediate Release
Defenders of Wildlife Calls for Additional Red Wolf Reintroductions
Twenty years after the first reintroduction, recovery goals still out of reach
COLUMBIA, N.C. – A five-year status review of red wolves has concluded that additional reintroductions of this endangered species are needed to aid the recovery of the red wolf throughout its historic range in the Southeast. The review came just days before the start of Wolf Awareness Week, an annual event sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife in recognition of wolves across the United States.
This year’s Wolf Awareness Week is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the reintroduction of red wolves. After being declared extinct in the wild in 1980, captive-bred red wolves were reintroduced to the Albemarle Peninsula in North Carolina in 1987 with a goal of establishing three independent, self-sustaining populations in the wild for a total wild population of at least 220 wolves and a captive population of 330 animals. However, today, only about 100 red wolves live in the wild in just one population covering about 1.7 million acres. Another 208 red wolves live in captive-breeding facilities around the country.
“Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, we have been able to bring back a species that was extinct in the wild for the first time in U.S. history,” said Nina Fascione, vice president of field conservation with Defenders of Wildlife. “The first red wolf reintroduction effort has been remarkably successful due to the Red Wolf Recovery Program’s commendable captive-breeding program and management of wild red wolves. This group effort has helped to restore populations to portions of its historic range. Now, 20 years later, it’s time to move forward with additional reintroductions, as the administration pledged in both its red wolf recovery plan and in this new status review.”
Red wolves once roamed throughout the entire southeastern United States, but habitat loss, hunting, trapping and poisoning nearly drove these unique animals to extinction in the region. After the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, FWS captured the few remaining wild red wolves and bred them in captivity in an effort to prevent the species’ final demise. Red wolves were declared extinct in the wild by 1980, but the captive-bred population increased steadily over the years, and by 1987, there were enough captive animals to begin the first reintroduction program for an extinct species in the United States.
Red wolves were first reintroduced at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina. Six years later, additional wolves were released to nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, and several of the area’s private landowners agreed to allow the wolves to live on their property.
A second reintroduction project of red wolves began in 1991 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but was cancelled in 1998 due to low pup survival rates and the inability of wolves to establish home ranges within the park.
Despite this setback, the recovery program has overcome many obstacles to maintain a healthy, wild population in the northeastern North Carolina. In recognition of their successful efforts to restore wolves into the wild, the Red Wolf Recovery Program received the 2007 North America Conservation Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“Wolf Awareness Week gives us a good opportunity to reflect on the achievements and shortcomings of the red wolves’ reintroduction. It’s sobering to think that it has been nearly 15 years since the last red wolf reintroduction, and we’re nowhere near the recovery goal of 220 wild wolves,” Fascione continued. “In order to expand the recovery program to other areas, as called for by the new status review, additional suitable habitat needs to be identified and additional wolves released.”
A 2005 report commissioned by Defenders of Wildlife found that a vibrant, healthy red wolf population, along with a Red Wolf Education Center highlighting the species' recovery efforts, could pump more than a million dollars into the local economy through ecotourism.
Read the report and more on the benefits of red wolves.
Learn more about Wolf Awareness Week.
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 900,000 members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
