Canis rufus

The red wolf is a kind of wolf. Some people think that it's a coywolf, others a subspecies of wolf, and still others a separate species. Most likely this wolf represents an important phase in evolution: the inbetweens. Species hybridize with other relatives and with other subspecies and with time, create a new species. As its genetic material isn't distinct enough to warrant a species but may be a little farther than most subspecies, and is additionally a hybrid that most often breeds with other hybrids, it is likely in this phase. Had it had thousands of more years to continue, it likely would have become a fully fledged wolf species. However, due to severe mismanagement with its recovery program, there are only 14 left of these wolves. It would take a miracle to save them.
The red wolf is mostly native to the swamplands of the United States. They have been extirpated in the wild. Efforts to reintroduce to the wild have failed, and they had to retry their entire breeding program as so many wolves that they released died. The last wild population, before reintroduction efforts, died in the 1980s around the border of southern Texas and Louisiana.https://www.outdooralabama.com/carnivores/red-wolf 
== References ==
Category:Wolves