Contributed by Brian Kelly, Coordinator of Red Wolf Field 

Projects. It is difficult for wildlife managers to accurately 

determine how many of a species live in an area. An animal's behavior, the frequency and extent of its movements, 

and the habitat it uses all influence our ability to do this. 

Counting reintroduced red wolves is different than most 

other species because we 

started the reintroduction with 

no wolves in the wild. When 

we released the first captive 

born wolves a collar that 

transmits a radio signal was 

attached to each wolf. When 

wild born wolves are captured 

they too receive a radio collar. 

Collaring all wolves allowed 

us to know exactly how many 

wolves were living in the 

wild. However, as the original wolves began to have puppies, we could not be certain we were capturing all of the 

red wolves in the wild. As a result, there is a portion of the 

red wolf population that we don't know about. 

The minimum red wolf population is the number of radio 

collars that we have operating. Currently this is 65 wolves. 

Since the beginning of the reintroduction we have lost contact 

with 41 radio collared wolves and have tagged 19 puppies that 

were too small to attach a radio collar. 

If these 60 wolves are still alive, the maximum population of 

wolves that we know about is 125. 

However, it is also possible that 

none of the 60 wolves are still alive. 

Using a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 125 and making some statistical assumptions we estimate the 

size of the current red wolf population to be 95 wolves. However, we 

need to better understand the unknown segment of the red wolf 

population and the survival rates of 

those wolves we have lost contact 

with to refine this estimate. 

Efforts to obtain this information are underway via our research 

partnerships. For example, we now have estimates of red wolf 

survival rates and are working to refine our estimate of red wolf 

population size. 

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Wild wolf population 

in Northeastern 

North Carolina 

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Red Wolf News 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

	

	

Contributed by Will 

Waddell, Red Wolf Captive 

Breeding Coordinator. 

Establishing a captivebreeding program in the 

1970’s was the only option 

to save the red wolf from 

extinction. Increasing red 

wolf numbers as quickly as 

possible was essential to 

secure the population and 

provide wolves for the future reintroduction that was 

planned. 

 At the end of 1999 there 

were 160 red wolves being 

managed in the captive program. At the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) 

mid-year meeting held at 

the North Carolina Zoo, 

breeding recommendations 

were made for the upcoming season 

 Wolves generally breed 

well in captivity; however 

some individuals may be 

more prolific than others, 

	
	
		
				

October through December 1999

causing certain founder 

lines to become more represented in the population 

than others. This disparity 

can impact genetic diversity in the population and 

require prevention of 

breeding from individuals 

whose founder lines are 

well represented in the 

population. Breeding efforts must then focus more 

intensely on wolves that 

are under-represented in 

Pair of red wolves photo by Barron Crawford 
facilities may not have the space to 

accomplish this. The application of 

these studies could provide the 

RWSSP greater flexibility when making decisions about pairings. 

represents a common mortality factor in 

many wildlife species. Twenty wolves 

died from unknown causes, which is 

often the case when the carcass is severely decomposed before it can be collected. Eighteen red wolves have died 

under suspicious conditions or taken 

illegally. Legal take, such as during 

depredation events or trapping related 

accidents, has been responsible for the 

deaths of seven wolves. 

 When a red wolf dies of a suspected 

illegal cause, a report is sent to law enforcement officials who may open an 

investigation. During an investigation, 

confidentiality about the specifics of the 

case is critical. Therefore, reporting 

individual wolf deaths and suspected 

causes will not always be detailed in the 

Red Wolf News. 

 Although 112 wolves have died, 

more than 191 have been born in the 

wild. Each birth brings the red wolf 

closer to recovery by increasing the 

odds that wolves will have access to 

other wolves as mates. This addresses 

the hybridization issue and insures future births to help offset mortalities. 

This newsletter is a publication of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Comments or questions can be addressed to: 

Jennifer Gilbreath, Wildlife Biologist/Outreach Coordinator 

Red Wolf Recovery 

PO Box 1969 Manteo, North Carolina 27954 

Email Jennifer_Gilbreath@fws.gov 

3$*(  5(' :2/) 1(:6 92/80(  ,668( 

(Continued from page 1) 

the population. 

 The RWSSP is cooperating with 

researchers to examine safe, effective 

and reversible birth control in red 

wolves. Collaboration between the 

RWSSP and the Toronto Zoo continues 

to assess sperm cooling/freezing techniques for genome resource banking in 

addition to evaluating in-vitro samples 

to measure sperm fertilizing ability. 

Fecal steroid techniques have also been 

developed to monitor female reproductive status and to determine pregnancy. 

This technique has special significance 

for successful artificial breeding. Participation in these important research 

programs will affect long-term red wolf 

management and are examples of the 

RWSSP’s commitment to red wolf 

recovery. 

 While the preferred method to prevent reproduction is to separate wolves 

throughout the breeding season, many 

	

		


 Mortality factors, or why wolves die, 

are important for us to understand if we 

hope to recover the red wolf. Each 

quarter, changes to the population are 

reported in Red Wolf News and they 

usually involve at least one death in the 

red wolf population. 

 Since the program first began in 

September of 1987, 112 of the wolves 

we’ve known about have died. Of 

those 112, 37 died of natural causes 

such as old age, uterine infections, being killed by other wolves, and disease. 

Another 28 were hit by vehicles, which 

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Island Propagation Status Report