page_title: Red wolf
section_title: Range and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Red wolf / Range and habitat
caption_attribution_description: English: Distrubition map of the red wolf Español: Mapa de distribución del lobo rojo
context_page_description: The red wolf is a canine native to the southeastern United States which has a reddish-tawny color to its fur. Morphologically it is intermediate between the coyote and gray wolf, and is very closely related to the eastern wolf of eastern Canada.
  The red wolf's proper taxonomic classification — in essence, whether it is an admixture of wolf and coyote or a third, distinct species — has been contentious for well over a century and is still under debate. Because of this, it is sometimes excluded from endangered species lists despite its critically low numbers. Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently recognizes the red wolf as an endangered species and grants protected status. Canis rufus is not listed in the CITES Appendices of endangered species. Since 1996 the IUCN has listed it as a critically endangered species.
context_section_description: The originally recognized red wolf range extended throughout the southeastern United States from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, north to the Ohio River Valley and central Pennsylvania, and west to Central Texas and southeastern Missouri. Research into paleontological, archaeological and historical specimens of red wolves by Ronald Nowak expanded their known range to include land south of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada, along the eastern seaboard, and west to Missouri and mid-Illinois, terminating in the southern latitudes of Central Texas.
  Given their wide historical distribution, red wolves probably used a large suite of habitat types at one time. The last naturally occurring population used coastal prairie marshes, swamps, and agricultural fields used to grow rice and cotton. However, this environment probably does not typify preferred red wolf habitat. Some evidence shows the species was found in highest numbers in the once extensive bottom-land river forests and swamps of the southeastern United States. Red wolves reintroduced into northeastern North Carolina have used habitat types ranging from agricultural lands to forest/wetland mosaics characterized by an overstory of pine and an understory of evergreen shrubs. This suggests that red wolves are habitat generalists and can thrive in most settings where prey populations are adequate and persecution by humans is slight.
caption: Historical range of the red wolf (Canis rufus)
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