Although it has been suggested that the red wolf originated as a fertile cross between gray wolves and coyotes, the red wolf may
have existed in North America before both the gray wolf and the coyote. Fossils
up to 750,000 years old indicate that the red wolf may be a close relative to a
primitive ancestor of the North American canids.
The red wolf is similar to but smaller than the gray wolf and is
intermediate in many characteristics between gray wolves and coyotes. It often
interbreeds with the coyote, and because of this, it is believed that the red
wolf may eventually become extinct by hybridization, rather than by man. It
ranges in size from 15" to 16" shoulder height, 55-65" in length,
and can weigh anywhere from 40 to 90 pounds. Its colors range from cinnamon red
to almost black, with tan markings above the eyes. It feeds mainly on birds,
rabbits, and other small rodents, but will also hunt deer and other large prey
if available.
The red wolf's historic range covered the southeastern portion of the United
States, reaching as far west as Texas and north to Illinois. Their preferred
habitat was warm, moist, and densely vegetated, although they were also present
in pine forests, bottom land hardwood forests, coastal prairies, and marshes.
Destruction
of forests and coastal marsh habitat, as well as widespread persecution and
predator control activities, brought them close to extinction. All of this in
addition to hybridization. In 1980, they were declared biologically extinct in
the wild. In the wild, red wolves normally establish life-long mates, and their
packs usually consist of an adult pair and the young. They reach breeding
maturity in their second or third year. Breeding seasons can vary from March to
May. Den sites include stream banks, enlarged burrows of other animals, hollow
trees, and sandy knolls in coastal areas.
