In the spirit of Game of Thrones returning, today’s endangered animal is the red wolf. The most well known wolf species is lupus or the gray wolf but the red wolf belongs to species rufus. Gray wolves are found throughout North America and Euraisia. They are not always gray in color. For example the Arctic gray wolf can be gray or white. Red wolves are endemic to to a small area of coastal North Carolina. You will not see a red wolf anywhere else in the world (legally).
Red wolves are mostly nocturnal. They are about 26 inches (.66 meters) tall. They weigh about 50-80 pounds (22-36 kilograms) and are about 4.5 to 5.5 (136–160 cm) feet long including their tail. Red wolves are monogamous creatures. A pair, once mated, is forever. Breeding season occurs in January or February and the female will bear 5-7 pups in April, May or June. The dens are usually hollowed tree trunks, along stream banks, or other abandoned animal’s homes.
These wolves are very solitary creatures. They usually hunt alone or in a very small group. Their diet is definitely carnivorous. They primarily eat rabbits, rodents and nutria which are like a sub species of a beaver. As their population increases, they’ve expanded their diet to include white tailed deer and raccoons.
The red wolf is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN list. There are about 250 red wolves left in existence with approximately 207 of them in captivity and 45 or so in the wild. There is only one killer of this species; humans. Looking at Cherokee mythology, the red wolf was known as wa’ya — the companion to Kanati, the hunter. Cherokee did not kill red wolves because they did not want to experience the wrath of the dead wolf’s pack mate. Clearly, Europeans did not abide by these sentiments and killed every wolf they saw. Between 1973 and 1980, four hundred candids were captured because the US Fish and Wildlife wanted to save the red wolf from extinction. Out of the 400, only 17 were pure red wolves. The remaining were coyotes or a hybrid species of wolf and coyote.
Today the fight continues. Even though there are laws in place protecting red wolves, they are still being shot by humans for one reason or another. Hopefully the wild population can recover.
Featured Image: Source
One of my favorite animals… along with the fox. I had a white shiba who looked just like a white wolf. Such intense and charismatic animals.
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Yes, they are! Very social too. It’s sad that people want to kill them but maybe shows like GoT will help change people’s opinions about how cool wolves are.
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I want a dire wolf pup.
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ME TOO!!!! Yes please!!!! They are sooo gorgeous!
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Beautiful animal, and amazing post about itsomething plight.
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Thanks. Tune in next Thursday for a new one 🙂
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I wouldn’t miss it. I love animals so much 😍😍
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We have a red coyote roaming around my in laws house right now. I think it’s looking for an introduction to our dog! Lol
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Oh boy! Coyotes are pretty harmless as long as you don’t bother them just keep your dog inside at night! What kind of dog do you have?
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Great post! The red wolf is such a beautiful animal and so tragic how it was hunted. Living here in NC, they do a lot of local projects to help get the public aware of the red wolf recovery efforts. One of the biggest issues now is the coyote population. They’re having to sterilize coyotes in the red wolf territory to avoid interbreeding and loss of the red wolf gene. It’s some interesting to follow since they’re only native to here, and one of my favorite animals!
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Oh that’s awesome to know! Thank you for sharing that bit. I know it must be hard since coyotes look so similar to the wolves. They don’t know the difference when it comes to mating.
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You’re welcome! I love this stuff!! Apparently it also has something to do with the red wolf population being so small versus the much larger coyote population so it was basically a territorial issue. One of the biology teachers I work with is really involved with the NC Fish and wildlife service’s recovery efforts for the red wolf and can tell you everything about them! It’s really awesome the things they are doing.
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Aaw, the numbers are really low!! What’s wrong with humans, honestly? Oh wait, you’re human too. Never mind.
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I’m not human. I’m an alien. That’s already been established.
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Hahaha a toe isn’t enough to make such a conclusion my dear 😜
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Says you 😛 I have other alien qualities you don’t know about yet!
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Oh my, there is more?? 😯
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There’s always more!
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#Gasps! 😱
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No tails though, right?
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So far no 😝
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Ah yes, it may still grow! 😕😈
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People are trying to bring the wolf back to Maine. I’d never heard of red wolves before this, though. We have plenty of coyotes, though!
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Wow red wolves are so beautiful!! I love that you did this in the spirit of GOT!
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😀 I hope we see some dire wolves this season! It’s been a while.
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oh yes me too- I miss Ghost in particular!
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I’d definitely save a red wolf pup if I came across some orphaned babies! Such a great post!
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Good read. Very informative Nel, thanks for sharing.
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