Red Wolf News

 U.S. Fish & . Fish & . Fish & Wildlife Service

Volume 4, Issue1 Fall, 2003

Red Wolves

In The Wild

D Currently, an estimated

100 red wolves populate the

the Pamlico-Albemarle

peninsula of northeastern

North Carolina, ranging over

1.5 million acres.

Watching Wolves by Satellite:

 Biologists Test a New Approach to Monitoring Red Wolves

A GPS collar uses satellites to locate red wolves.

(Continued on page 2)

In The News

D On July 31st, MSNBC

network aired a National

Geographic Explorer special

containing the 30-minute

film segment, “America’s

Last Red Wolves.” The

special is being aired periodically. Check local

listings for airdates.

On September 18th, Hurricane Isabel made

landfall in northeastern North Carolina.

The eye of the 500 mile-wide storm

directly hit the experimental red wolf

restoration area, leaving her mark upon

the landscape as well as the red wolf

population. The category two storm

ravaged the Alligator River National

Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR), inflicting an

estimated $5.5 million in damage. In the

fury of her 100 mph winds, Isabel

managed to decimate the captive red wolf

facility known as Sandy Ridge, located in

ARNWR.

Sandy Ridge, the second largest captive

red wolf breeding facility in the nation,

was nearly flattened by the high winds.

Amid the chaos, only one of the 14 pens

in the facility escaped damage. Out of the

remaining 13 pens, 7 are repairable.

Tragically, the recovery program’s most

photographed and filmed wolf, 520M (also

known as “Zeus” and “Hollywood”) was

killed when a tree fell on him as he escaped

his shelter. No longer able to breed, 520M

was slated to be the first resident of the Red

Wolf Visitor Center, to be built on the

Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

During the storm, two captive-born red

wolves escaped from their pens. One wolf

was recovered via telemetry and the second

was killed in an automobile accident before

he could be recaptured. The field crew

continues to assess if any damage was done

to the wild population of red wolves.

After Isabel

In July, Red Wolf Recovery Program

biologists fastened an experimental GPS

collar to a sterilized hybrid male in order

to test the usefulness of this technology

in monitoring the wild population of red

wolves. The collar will automatically

record the location of the animal up to

three times a day, information which is

downloaded to a receiver once a week

and then analyzed by biologists. This

allows biologists to gather data without

having to be in the field as often and

allows collection of data in areas where it

is logistically impossible.

However, savings in personnel time are

countered by battery life limitations of

the GPS collars. While traditional telemetry

collars have an average battery life of 3-4

years, the GPS collar installed by the red

wolf staff is only expected to last about 1

year. The effort needed to recapture animals

and replace the batteries in these collars is

perhaps the least appealing aspect of the

technology at this point in time. As the

technology rapidly improves, the efficiency

of GPS collars will likely no longer be a

concern.

D A film crew from TV

Tokyo visited the Red Wolf

Recovery Program for a week

in August to gather material

for a documentery on endangered species recovery to be

aired in Japan.

D Radio collars track 63

red wolves, 11 red wolfcoyote hybrids, and 5 coyotes

within the recovery zone.
 Watching Wolves -continuedRed Wolf News

A publication of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Please address questions and comments to:

Outreach Coordinator

Red Wolf Recovery Program

PO Box 1969

Manteo, North Carolina 27954

Email: Redwolf@fws.gov

For more information, visit:

alligatorriver.fws.gov

www.nczooredwolf.org

www.redwolves.com

In the wilds of the Alligator River

National Wildlife Refuge, a low ridge

rises out of the swamps. The highest

land in the surrounding area, the site

known as Sandy Ridge was once a

bustling logging camp where, during

prohibition, moonshine stills sent

flumes of smoke into the forest

canopy. Today, it’s the home of the

Sandy Ridge Captive Red Wolf

Facility and is completely uninhabited

except by one person: the red wolf

caretaker volunteer.

Caretakers, most often students or

recent graduates, commit to a 3-6

month internship to gain skills in

animal husbandry and maintenance in

return for humble quarters and a

modest stipend. Since the beginning

of the red wolf restoration in Alligator

River Refuge, volunteer caretakers

have been vital in the effort to keep

the captive facility functioning and

the animals alive and healthy. The

Sandy Ridge facility, remote and offlimits to the public, contains pens to

hold captive and, temporarily, wild

red wolves and canids. Wild animals

requiring medical attention, awaiting

blood work results, or acclimating to

a matched mate are released as soon

as possible.

Caretakers feed and water the

wolves, inspect and repair pens,

observe the animals for any unusual

behavior, and remove scat and debris

from the interior of the pens. On top

of these routine duties, the caretakers

also sanitize equipment, administer

heartworm preventative, and maintain

the grounds around the facility.

Additional duties include track

casting, skull articulation, assisting

with Howling Safaris, and waiting

on-call most weekends to assist field

biologists on traplines.

While the work is challenging and

the financial benefits are few, the red

wolf caretakers play a crucial role in

the success of the captive facility and

the restoration of the red wolf to the

wild. The Red Wolf Recovery Program

values the time and effort extended by

all of those who have volunteered to

work for the restoration of this

important species.

Those who are interested in applying

for a caretaker internship may contact

Scott McLellan at:

Scott_McLellan@fws.gov or by mail:

Caretaker Internship

Red Wolf Recovery Program

PO Box 1969

Manteo, NC 27954

Because the reliability of the experimental collar is not yet

known, an abdominal telemetry transmitter was surgically

implanted inside the hybrid to serve as a back up to the GPS

collar. The abdominal transmitter is a small, rounded, selfcontained unit that floats freely inside the belly and does not

interfere with normal bodily functions.

Potentially, data gathered from GPS collars could answer

many questions about red wolf movements and behaviors.

However, the red wolf staff is not ready to hang up

their telemetry antennas just yet. As this initial

experiment proceeds, the performance of the hybrid’s

GPS collar is likely to answer some questions the

biologists have about the prospective applications of

this technology. Currently, there are no plans to

switch to widespread use of the collars within the red

wolf population. However, the red wolf staff is

keeping an open mind to this and other types of newer

technology as it becomes more proven and

economical.

Red Wolf News Fall, 2003

Sandy Ridge

resident

520M

was killed

during

Hurricane

Isabel

(see page 1

for story).

Taking Care of Red Wolves: Volunteers Keep Captive Animals Alive and Healthy