Endangerd Species of North Carolina
The Red Wolf Edition
All About The Canis Rufus
Canis Rufus is the scientific name for the red wolf. The red wolf resembles a coyote, but has a larger and more robust structure, and is a little smaller then the grey wolf. The species is native to a large area of the South East United States, but there numbers have been greatly reduced. There are more than 50 red wolves roaming around in their natural habitat at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, in Eastern North Carolina.
Red Wolf in it's Natural Habitat
A Red Wolf Standing in the Snow
A Red Wolf Mother with her Pups
The Danger of Extinction For The Red Wolf
The red wolf is currently one of the world's most endangered canids. This is due to the extensive predator programs that occurred during the 1960. The efforts happened, because there larges amounts of red wolves, and they were dominating the food chain, killing off a lot of it's prey. The species is also endangered because of habitat loss. In 1973, after the huge decrease in red wolf numbers, the United Fish and Wildlife Service tried to capture as many as possible, so that they can be bred in captivity. There were only around 17 found and captured. They were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. However, programs have been successfully set up to increase the red wolf numbers, such as the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, in Eastern North Carolina. Now there are 50 red wolves roaming around in there natural habitat in North Carolina, and 200 are in captive breeding facilities throughout the United States.
You can help the red wolves by donating money to organizations that save them!
Red Wolf at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
I hope you enjoyed this flyer!!
By: Summer Thoma