Red wolves also have a more slender build and longer legs than gray wolves. Although many red wolves have a reddish cast to their fur, some do not. Males are generally larger than the females. It is believed that they do not form large packs like gray wolves. Although they are capable of taking large prey such as deer, most of their food consists of smaller animals such as rabbits, raccoons, rodents, and birds.
Red wolves seem to be most active at night.
Preferred habitats of the red wolf include large amounts of upland and swamp forests with thick cover. Red wolves mate in eady spring, with the pups being born in late spring after a gestation period of 60 to 63 days. Dens may be enlarged burrows made by other animals, hollow trees, or other secluded sftes. Both the male and female wolves care for the pups which leave the parents the next year. Red wolves have been known to interbreed with coyotes producing hybrid young, a traft which has threatened this species' survival in the wild.