Why are the American Red Wolves endangered?Updated 5 months ago

Past trapping, poaching, and habitat loss are primarily to blame for the Red Wolves’ endangered status—they are now the most endangered wolf species in the world. Red Wolves once occupied space as far south as Texas all the way to the southern tip of New York, but in the 17 and 1800s, intensive hunting and predator control programs nearly wiped out the species entirely. 

Red Wolves first received federal protection under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 in 1967. Zoos stepped up to establish a population in human care in 1969 in an attempt to preserve their numbers by breeding and increasing the amount of Red Wolves to later be released into the wild. Red Wolves received additional protections courtesy of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service knew the wild population was on the brink of extinction, and set out to capture the last remaining wild Red Wolves to help secure the breeding program in zoos. Through all the trapping efforts, just 14 Red Wolves were identified and used as founders to establish the population under human care.