The Red Wolf is the most endangered mammal in North America, with estimates of as few as 20, or fewer, left in the wild, all in eastern North Carolina. There are some more in captivity used for breeding. Seeing one in the wild is exceptionally rare. Most of the adults are wearing radio tracking collars. Seeing two in the wild is even more rare. Seeing two adults in the same field, with one adult without a tracking collar, is a holy grail moment.

A dark Red Wolf.


Under the watchful eye of another collared adult.





And a road bear.



And a moment of Zen.

Awesome.

pretty

That's a yote. I'm sorry, but the fugger is getting shot around here...

That's not a coyote.

Very cool, thanks for sharing

Great pictures 10Glocks. Very cool.

That’s a chunk of a bear!

I would have assumed Coyote. What are the distinguishing features?

Whatever? Pretty ratty looking.

Their shapes are alike and the population has been reduced in NC by illegal shooting by mistaken identity. They are closely related. But Red Wolves are bigger than coyotes, usually around double the weight at adulthood, and have longer legs. Red Wolves have red hair where you see red hair on this wolf, particularly red hair on the back of there rump and hind legs. Most importantly, this red wolf is known to the program officials at this NWR and has been photographed before. It's an offspring of of a mating pair that has apparently never been captured at an adult size to be collared. There are 12 collared adults on this NWR and about 8 known uncollared adults. The wolf in the backgrpound is collared. Coyotes don't get collared.

Don’t you like when someone is way wiser than you! !!

If there were more of them around we would have fewer coyotes. I would much prefer the red wolves.

I’d imagine the spring coats aren’t exactly prime in NC.

Probably not the area to be hunting at night with thermal equipment.

Cool picts.

There are game cameras set up over more accessible areas on this NWR. I hike the field edges, closed roads and swamp trails and see cellular equip game cameras here and there, in different places each time I go. I even pissed towards one before I saw it. There is some bear poaching as a game-land area adjoins this area on the south, where bear hunting is permitted. This area does allow deer hunting during the regular state season, but not bear since this NWR is a bear refuge. In the fall, bear seem to know they are being hunted to the south and come onto the NWR where there is no legal bear hunting. In the fall, I've seen bear hunters come over the boundary onto the NWR. So there is some surveillance of the area going on. It's a huge area and much of it is remote and incredibly hard to get into so there are areas where there is no surveillance. A few months ago someone shot a red Wolf outside the NWR and there is a still a $5000 reward out for whoever did it.

Interesting info. Thanks.

Pretty cool thanks for the pics. TN tried to reestablish the red wolfs around the Cade’s cove area of the Smokey mntns. While the experiment did not work a lot was learned from it.
The biggest set backs to a sustainable breeding population were not only parasites in the young litters, but more impactful, was the lack of a generational social hierarchy to solidify and centralize the family units within their environment. (much like issues that are plaguing us as a human species today)

I think the Red Wolf's days are numbered. I don't think any exist today that don't have some coyote DNA in them. And there is really no place left in the east for them to roam and hunt the bigger animals,, like deer, they really need. I think they are pretty much living off rodents at this point. They're getting hit by cars and shot by hunters who don't know the difference between these wolves and coyotes. Their population is down from 120 from a few years ago to 20 adults today.

anyway here in Minnesota we have way too many Gray wolves / Timber wolves your welcome to as many as you want ,just come on up and live catch a few , i am sure the Minnesota DNR would probably help since most wolf division DNR people are Peta lovers . matter facted our coyotes are a lot bigger here in Minnesota you can have them too.

They were numerous here in the east part of the
state until the mid 50's when the coyotes started
pushing them out

Nice shots, thanks for sharing them.