Red Wolf News

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

Volume 5, Issue1 Spring Spring, 2004

 The recent recapture and release of red

wolf 11202F on November 11, 2003 was an

exciting moment for those involved in

maintaining both the captive and wild

populations of red wolves. 11202F is not

your average wild red wolf. In fact, she and

her brother were famous at a very early age.

 Born in the North Carolina Zoo in the

spring of 2002 to a captive-bred mother, the

two pups began their first adventure before

they even began to walk. Under the direction

of the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan

(RWSSP), the body that coordinates the red

wolf captive breeding program, the ten-dayold pups were transported from the zoo to

northeastern North Carolina on May 5th,

2002. The pups were implanted with a

microchip for future identification and

inserted by the USFWS into a wild den with

two red wolf pups of identical age. The zoo

pups were accepted by their wild foster

mother and raised along with their adopted

siblings.

 Captive-born red wolves are periodically

inserted into the wild in order to enhance the

genetic diversity of the wild red wolf

population of northeastern North Carolina.

However, the fostering event marked the first

time that zoo-born wolf pups were inserted

into a wild litter. Previous insertions of

captive red wolves were made with young

adult wolves. Fostering the pups at an early

Captive Facility

Recovers from

Hurricane Damage

 Although Hurricane Isabel

made no significant impact on

the wild population of red

wolves, the Sandy Ridge Captive

Breeding Facility on Alligator

River National Wildlife Refuge

is still recovering from the

destructive effects of the storm.

Pens that received minor damage

have mostly been repaired. Of

the eight pens that were severely

damaged, three have been fixed

and are usable. A new perimeter

fence was recently completed.

 Thanks to the rapid response

of concerned members of the

non-profit organization the Red

Wolf Coalition, a donation of

$7,150 worth of fencing

materials will aid the

reconstruction of Sandy Ridge

tremendously. Now that the

fence is erect, fencing materials

donated by the Red Wolf

Coalition will be shipped to the

site and stored inside the

compound. These materials will

be used to repair the five

remaining damaged pens. The

USFWS Red Wolf Recovery

Program extends gratitude to the

Coalition for helping restore this

important facility.

For More Information:

www.redwolves.com

age allows the pups to be raised by a wild

mother, therefore increasing their chances of

survival.

 According to observations by USFWS field

biologists, the experimental fostering event is a

success. Not only were the zoo-born pups

accepted into the wild litter, but they have

remained with their adopted pack even longer

than the parents’ natural pups of the same year’s

litter. It is thought that the fostered pups, now

yearlings, are helping raise their pack’s 2003

litter.

 As other pack members go off to hunt, they

often leave one or two members behind to “pupsit.” The fostered yearlings, particularly 11202F,

were often located in the areas where biologists

suspected the pack hid their 2003 litter during

the summer. This behavior suggests that the

zoo-born wolves are fully adapted to the wild

and doing their part to participate in the typical

pack structure of wild red wolves.

 All dogs may go to heaven but most wild

red wolves go to the National Wildlife Health

Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Ever since the

restoration of the first four pairs of red wolves

to northeastern North Carolina, recovery

program biologists have sent the remains of

red wolves killed in the wild to the research

center operated by the United States

Geological Survey (USGS).

 The National Wildlife Health Center

(NWHC) is a medical laboratory whose

mission is to provide information, technical

Where Do Red Wolves Go When They Die?

assistance, and research on national and

international wildlife health issues. NWHC

scientists perform necropsies on red wolves,

providing detailed information about the

medical condition of the animal in question, as

well as the cause of death. Necropsy reports

provided by NWHC are compiled in a longterm database tracking red wolf health.

 Biologists rely on the wolves’ radio tracking

collars to tell them when an animal has died.

When a red wolf does not move for six hours,

(Continued on Page 2)

Fostered Wolf Recaptured and Released

11202F awaits her rerelease to the wild.

To view footage of the release, visit: www.fieldtripearth.org
Red Wolf News

A publication of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Please address questions and comments to:

Outreach Coordinator

Red Wolf Recovery Program

P.O. Box 1969

Manteo, North Carolina 27954

Email: Redwolf@fws.gov

For more information, visit:

http://alligatorriver.fws.gov

www.fieldtripearth.org

www.redwolves.com

Red Wolf News Spring Spring, 2004

 Red wolf biologists are using

an interesting tool to learn about

wild wolves. Scat, the solid

remains of a wolf’s last meal,

can reveal a great deal of

information about individual

wolves, and the wild red wolf

population, as a whole.

 When conducting a scat

survey, biologists ride All Terrain

Vehicles (ATVs) throughout the

network of dirt roads within the

red wolf recovery area,

collecting red wolf feces as they

go. By examining the size and

consistency of scat, biologists

conclude whether or not a specimen

Scat!

Evidence of the Red Wolf

A biologist collects a sample of red wolf scat.

belongs to a red wolf. Because wolves consume nearly

their entire prey, their scat is encased in hair so that bone

fragments do not puncture the intestines. Biologists

collect part of the specimen, leaving behind a sizable

amount. Biologists are careful not to remove the entire

scat because red wolves use scat as markers to delineate

their territories.

 Initially, scat was analyzed solely to determine the

diets of wild red wolves. Collected scat was dried in a

special oven and biologists sifted through the undigested

matter to determine what the wolves were eating. Hair,

teeth, and bone fragments were matched to prey species.

By studying the composition of feces over several years,

biologists became more familiar with the eating habits of

the red wolf.

 Thanks to recent progress in genetic testing, scat now

reveals much more than diet. Currently, scat collected in

the field in northeastern North Carolina is shipped to the

University of Idaho, to be analyzed by doctoral candidate

Jennifer Adams. Adams tests each scat to determine the

genetic identity of the animal that produced the fecal

matter.

 This non-invasive method of genetic testing is an

important tool in adaptive management, the recovery

program’s process of managing for hybridization with coyotes.

“We recognize that hybridization is a serious threat to the red wolf.

A key part of the adaptive management plan is to identify canids

[in the recovery area] that are

unknown,” explains Art Beyer, Field

Coordinator for the Red Wolf

Recovery Program. Scat analysis

tells biologists whether canids in a

particular area are red wolves,

coyotes or coyote-red wolf hybrids,

information that might otherwise be

difficult to discern. Art explains that

genetic information from scat

samples gives the program a “highresolution picture of a canid so that

we can decide how it fits into our

management plan.”

 The work of researcher Jennifer

Adams and the University of Idaho

increases the ability of recovery

program biologists to effectively manage for the conservation of

the endangered red wolf. As technology evolves and new

questions are posed by researchers, scat studies will likely provide

additional answers about red wolf behavior and biology.

its radio collar emits a mortality signal. Biologists can then locate

the animal and collect its remains. Even when the cause of death is

evident, such as when a wolf is struck by a vehicle, the carcass is

sent to NWHC. In the case of suspected illegal activity, the red

wolf will be sent to the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics

Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon. Forensic scientists at this wildlife

crime lab provide information to law enforcement officers working

on a case.

 In the history of the red wolf recovery program, the single

greatest cause of death appears to be vehicular collisions. A total

of 38 wolves have been killed by collisions since the recovery

program’s inception in 1987. Of the natural causes leading to

mortality, the greatest cause of death is known as intraspecific

strife, a.k.a. “wolves killing each other.” Red wolves are extremely

territorial and will defend their territory or social rank sometimes

to the point of death. Because of the hazards and hardships of life

in the wild, red wolves rarely die of old age, though, once in a

while, a few oldtimers beat the odds.

Where Do Red Wolves Go.... -Continued-