Today, only a few wolves roam the Alligator River Refuge and nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Red wolves prefer to live in forests, swamps and coastal prairies. Dens are often located in hollow trees, stream banks and sand knolls. The red wolf's diet consists primarily of small mammals such as rabbits and rodents but also includes insects, berries and occasionally deer. Shy and secretive, red wolves hunt alone or in small family packs.
Red wolves tend to form pair-bonds for life.
They breed once a year in the early spring. Females have an average of five pups. Threats to the red wolf include habitat loss because of human development and illegal hunting. Appendix I listed species cannot be traded commercially. Appendix II listed species can be traded commercially only if it does not harm their survival.