A Howling Success 



Sound To 



Natural Wonders of the Coast 



On a still night their howls pierce the air like arrows. 



Red wolves freely roam the 120,000 acres of the Alligator 

 River National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland of Dare County. 



They can be found in only a handful of places in the world. 

 But their future in North Carolina is hopeful. 



A native to North Carolina, the red wolf (Cams rufus) once 

 freely roamed the Tar Heel coastal plain and the rest of the 

 American Southeast. 



The red wolf is smaller than the gray wolf (Canis lupus) but 

 larger than the common coyote (Canis latrans). It is a tall and 

 lanky animal, and its fur has coloration ranging from cinnamon red 

 to charcoal gray. The colorings and body type are ideally suited for 

 hunting in Southeastern habitats. 



A creature of forests and bottomlands, the red wolf was 

 eradicated from our state in the late 1930s. Humans were respon- 

 sible for most of the red wolfs retreat. The government once 

 offered bounties for their hides. And logging companies decimated 

 their forest range. 



In the 1960s, there were few red wolves left in the United 

 States. A small area of marshland in Louisiana and Texas had 

 become their home. But these animals were sick, and some had 

 mated with native coyotes, resulting in a hybrid breed. 



In 1986, new hope was born for this small wolf in North 

 Carolina. Four pairs of wolves were taken from a captive breeding 

 program in Tacoma, Washington and released into the Alligator 

 River National Wildlife Refuge. 



Later, others were released. They were fed by U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service biologists until they were able to fend for them- 

 selves. 



Even the bottomlands of this remote wildlife refuge weren't 

 enough to protect these wolves from the influence of humans. 

 Two of the red wolves released into the refuge were killed by 

 passing motorists. 



Nature took its toll also. Some wolves died of disease; others 

 fell victim to accidents. 



But biologists aren't gauging the success of the North Carolina 

 red wolf project by the number of animals that survive. They're 

 watching for breeding successes. In 1989, two litters of two pups 

 each were recorded, with one pup from each litter surviving. 



And this spring, four litters were documented. One of those 

 litters was born to a female who had been born in the wild. 



"It's the first time we've had second-generation red wolves in 

 the refuge," says refuge biologist Michael Morse. 



The red wolf is considered extinct in the wild and is one of 

 the most endangered carnivores in the world, with its population 



hovering at about 130 animals, Morse says. 



If the Tar Heel project is successful, the Alligator River 

 National Wildlife Refuge may become one of only three refuges in 

 the country where this canid will once again roam the wild. 



Today, there are about 25 red wolves at Alligator River, the 

 limit for the refuge's ability to support wolves. 



"If the population grows consistently, surplus animals will 

 have to be captured and kept in pens or taken to other sites," 

 Morse says. 



One such site is the Cades Cove area in the Great Smoky 

 Mountains National Park, where four red wolves were released this 

 year. 



For now, the future of the red wolf is uncertain. With more 

 and more of the wolves' natural habitat falling prey to the 

 lumberman's axe and the developer's shovel, choice reintroduction 

 sites will diminish. 



Their only hope, Morse says, is the salvation of large areas of 

 habitat like that found along the Alligator River. 



CR. Edgerton 



COASTVC'ATCH 15 



