The essential reasons are to prevent extinction of the species and to restore the ecosystems in which red wolves once occurred. It is important to save all members of an ecosystem, including predators, if we intend to preserve the environment and be good stewards of the land. Predators maintain the balance and health of ecosystems by controlling over-populations of prey species and removing unhealthy animals. The Act requires recovery plans for endangered species. Lessons learned in the Red Wolf Recovery Program have served, and will continue to serve, as a template for recovery of other species whose only hope for survival is reintroduction.
Red wolves are intermediate in size between gray wolves and coyotes.
The average adult female red wolf weighs 52 pounds and the average adult male weighs 61 pounds. Red wolves have tall, pointed ears, long legs, and large feet, similar to the domestic German shepherd. Adult red wolves stand about 26 inches at the shoulder and are about 4 feet long from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. Based on fossil and archaeological evidence, the original red wolf range extended throughout the Southeast, from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, north to the Ohio River valley and central Pennsylvania, and west to central Texas and southeastern Missouri. At least one archaeological specimen has been found in North Carolina.