American Red Wolf

Red Wolves are much leaner than their gray wolf cousins, and they may even look like a domestic German Shepherd dog at first glance. Their coats are mostly brown or buff with a rust color along their capes and on the backs of their legs. The Red Wolf is between the size of a gray wolf and a coyote, weighing anywhere between 45 and 80 pounds.

Red Wolves are known to exist in only one location outside of human care- the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. In the late 1980s, 14 Red Wolves were released in the refuge from a surviving un-hybridized population found along eastern Texas. Until recently, this wild population on the North Carolina coast was successfully growing, but due to human intervention and coyote hybridization, the wild population now contains less than 50 individuals. Due to their small numbers, little is known about their true habits. Red Wolves’ preferred habitats include large amounts of upland and swamp forests with thick cover.

The majority of their food consists of small mammals, rodents, birds, and white-tailed deer.