Red Wolves

By: Sebastian Shaw

Red wolves are one of the most endangered animals in the world. It is a shy species that once roamed throughout the Southeast as a top predator. Aggressive predator control programs and clearing of forested habitat combined to cause impacts that brought the red wolf to the brink of extinction. Today I am going to talk about, reproduction, dietary habits, and behavior. 

The reproduction of the Red wolf typically reaches maturity at the age of 22 months, though specimens reproducing at the age of 10 months have been recorded. The mating season takes place in February and March with a gestation period of 61-63 days. Pups are usually born in March or April, and number about 1 to 10 babies per litter (though two to five pups are common). The breeding pair typically produces one litter annually. Females may establish several dens during the denning season. The pups are often moved from on den to another.

The Red wolf usually hunts at night, dawn of dusk. It usually feeds alone, though there is evidence of pack hunting behavior. It’s not uncommon for pack members to partition resources. Although the exact diet of red wolves is difficult to determine and varies depending on available prey. A study of approximately 2,200 scats (feces) of wild red wolves from northeastern North Caroline estimated that their diet consisted of about 50 percent white-tailed deer, 30 percent raccoons, and 20 percent small mammals, such as rabbits, rodents, and nutria. No mammalian prey, domestic pets and livestock were uncommon as prey items. But they did occur in very low numbers (less than 2 percent). A red wolf consumes about two to five pounds of food per day.

The Red wolves behavior includes dominant breeding pair and young from prior seasons. Offspring typically disperse before the age of 2 years. Group size in northeastern North Carolina usually numbers from 2-13. The Red wolf will scent mark territorial boundaries to deter intrusion from other wolf packs. As an apex predator, Red wolves have no natural predators, although they may compete for prey with bobcats and coyotes and kill may be stolen by American black bears. Theses wolves try to stay away from humans and also they are really shy. There have been no documented cases of healthy wild red wolves attacking humans in North America, despite 500 years of historical coexistence. They are capable of attacking and injuring humans, and such encounters with Native Americans may have occurred before the use of modern weapons and the resulting fear of man by wolves.

We learned about the reproduction, dietary habits, and behavior. All I have to say is to take care of nature.