Endangered Species: Red Wolf
The Red Wolf, or Canis rufus, is on of the rarest endangered species in the world. After they were nearly eradicated by predator control and loss of habitat in the southcentral US, they were captured from Texas and Louisiana and taken in by shelters in North Carolina. Although they were declared extinct from the wild in 1980, enough were bred in captivity by 1987 for the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge to begin a restoration program in northeastern north Carolina, which is part of their native habitat. About 100 Red Wolves currently live in the wild.