Scientists are hopeful that the endangered red wolf population, absent from the wild for decades, could be revived now that a significant portion of its DNA has been found in wild coyote populations.

The wild red wolf population is now back to the brink of oblivion, decimated by gunshots, vehicle strikes, suspected poisonings and, some have argued, government neglect.

Every American red wolf alive right now is descended from only 14 canids. In the 1970s, humans drove the red wolf to the brink of extinction. Because of that, red wolves today have low genetic ...

Courtesy New York Wolf Conservation Center. In 1987, the USFWS gave the red wolf a second chance at survival in the wild, releasing several captive bred wolves into North Carolina’s Alligator ...

Over 25 years, the red wolf went from being declared extinct in the wild to becoming hailed as an Endangered Species Act success story. But the only wolf species unique to the United States is ...

A red wolf stuffed toy sits in a gift shop at the Coastal North Carolina Refuges Gateway Visitor Center, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Manteo, N.C.

The red wolf once roamed much of the southeastern United States, ... Human habituation, or acclimating to the presence of people, reduces wildlife’s normal elusiveness and fear responses. ...

But the biggest hurdle to red wolf recovery is space. The two refuges’ combined 270,000 acres (109,265 hectares) — roughly 422 square miles (1,093 kilometers) — of federal land might sound ...

A red wolf roams across the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge as the sun sets, Thursday, March 23, 2023, near Manns Harbor, N.C. Coupled with recent releases of captive-bred adults and the ...

But the biggest hurdle to red wolf recovery is space. The two refuges’ combined 270,000 acres (109,265 hectares) — roughly 422 square miles (1,093 kilometers) — of federal land might sound ...

The red wolf could be delisted by 2072, the agency concluded, providing “all actions are fully funded and implemented” and with “full cooperation of all partners.” ...