Red wolf  (Canis rufus)

The population of red wolves suffered as a result of persecution and habitat loss as mature woodlands were cleared to make way for agriculture (9). Red wolves were extensively trapped and shot, as they were believed to pose a direct threat to livestock and game (5). Hybridisation posed a further threat to the survival of the species, as the population became increasingly fragmented; isolated individuals would crossbreed with the closely related coyote (Canis latrans) (10). The taxonomic status of the red wolf has been widely debated. Recent genetic and morphological research suggests that the red wolf is a unique species, rather than the hybrid offspring from gray wolf (Canis lupus) and coyote (Canis latrans) interbreeding (5) (11).

Despite the ongoing debate as to the species status of the red wolf, the recovery programme initiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is one of the most successful large mammal conservation efforts (9). Steps to save this much-maligned species began in 1967 and culminated in the re-introduction of captive-bred individuals into the wild. Four pairs of red wolves were released in North Carolina starting in 1987 (10). A second attempt in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee was conducted between 1992 and 1998, but was cancelled due to the inability of wolves to establish home ranges within the park, and extremely low pup survival, caused by diseases from domestic dogs (3). The North Carolina population is currently doing well, an amazing feat considering the species was at one time extinct in the wild. The species is fully protected within the current range (12), but educational programmes around the release areas are essential in ensuring public support and success of the re-introduction. Public opinion surveys continue to show that local, regional and national support for the program is favourable (3).