Once widespread in the eastern United States, the red wolf now has a wild population in a limited area of northeastern North Carolina.
Its head is broader than a coyote’s, and reddish-brown fur is common on the ears, head and legs. Some individuals also have gray or black on the back and tail tip.
GPS tracking on North Carolina’s Albemarle Peninsula followed Red Wolves from 2009 to 2011. Resident wolves used home ranges of 25–190 square kilometres. Transient wolves moved across much larger areas, traversing 122–681 square kilometres without keeping the same stable range.
Both resident and transient wolves selected agricultural land over forest in the study area. Transients were more strongly associated with roads and habitat edges, and included displaced wolves and younger dispersers seeking space and mates. The authors described this mobile phase as part of red wolf life history, with movements that can help replace breeding residents lost to mortality.
IUCN Red List · Critically Endangered · Global
The 2018 global IUCN assessment lists the Red wolf as Critically Endangered (CR).