![]() Early bounties and indiscriminate killing caused the rapid decline of red wolf numbers. By 1920, the red wolf had been extirpated in most of the southern states, and by 1970 less than 100 red wolves remained in the entire United States, confined to a small area of coastal Texas and Louisiana. Unlike gray wolves, red wolves faced an imminent threat of extinction. The red wolf recovery project in the eastern United States has differed from gray wolf reintroduction projects in the western states. The debate is likely to continue for some time. Researchers working in the park argue that the red wolf and eastern timber wolf should be joined as a species, separate from the gray wolf. To further complicate the issue, work on wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada suggests that wolves there are closely related to the red wolf. Thus far, petitions to delist the red wolf on grounds that it is a hybrid have been defeated, and Canis rufus remains a protected species under federal law in the United States. Fish and Wildlife Service have legally designated the red wolf, Canis rufus, a distinct species. However, based on available research, the U.S. Scientific studies disagree over whether the red wolf is indeed a separate species, a subspecies of the gray wolf, or hybrid between gray wolves and coyotes. ![]() Similar to gray wolves, red wolves live in the social structure of a pack, with a defended territory, an adult breeding pair and older offspring that assist with pup rearing. They have also been known to prey on domestic pets and livestock, but in very small numbers. Red wolves are known to hunt individually and in packs, eating white-tailed deer, raccoons and small mammals such as rabbits and rodents. Their original range is believed to be the entire eastern forested region of North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf Coast. Red wolves were once well established as a top predator throughout the Southeast. ![]() They are mostly brown and buff colored, sometimes with red shading around their ears, muzzle and the backs of their legs. Intermediate in size between coyotes and gray wolves, red wolves average 45-80 pounds. The red wolf (Canis rufus) is distinguished from the gray wolf (Canis lupus) and the coyote (Canis latrans) by size and coloring.
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