Red wolf

Red Wolf (Canis rufus)

The red wolf (Canis rufus, often out under the incorrect name Canis niger) is a North American type of dog that is closely related to the actual wolf. The species was extinct in the wild, but was reintroduced successfully again in North Carolina.

Features

Red wolves are much smaller than actual wolves ( to distinguish it from the red wolf in North America as a Gray Wolf, " Grey Wolf", are referred to ). They have a head-body length of about 80 cm, the tail is also about 35 cm long. Until the shoulder they are 75 cm high. Body weight is about 25 kg. Males are on average ten percent larger than females.

The color of the coat is not always red, just as the gray wolf is always gray. In addition to cinnamon red beige gray come mainly and also blackish red wolves before. The more reliable distinguishing feature to the gray wolf is therefore not the fur, but the much more delicate shape. In addition, the red wolf has a narrower snout and proportionately larger ears.

Area of ​​distribution and inventory

Spread the red wolf was originally in the southeastern United States, where he became extinct around 1980. He has been so far eradicated until remaining stocks last only remained in parts of Texas and Louisiana Through intensive hunting.

In 1973 was put into force in the United States Endangered Species Act ( "Endangered species Act "). In the same year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( USFWS ) began a breeding program, for which 79 wild red wolves captured and 14 were determined to be pure red wolves were selected as the basis for the breeding population. The Red Wolf died afterwards from in the wild. However, a total extinction of the species could be prevented by the offspring. The descendants of captive-bred red wolves were released back in the northeast of the state of North Carolina since 1987. The area was chosen, among other reasons, because it was considered a coyote - free and so were interbreeding between the two forms of dogs as unlikely. Since the 1990s, however, coyotes migrated into the area and there were pairings between species. This is considered the greatest threat to the wild population.

Today's distribution area in the north of the State of North Carolina has three wildlife sanctuaries, the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. Once again there are 100 to 150 wild red wolves, bringing the style but still faces an extremely classified. As a potential danger to the low genetic diversity may prove, since the type had a genetic bottleneck happen. Another project in the Great Smoky Mountains to settle the type again was unsuccessful.

Way of life

Because of its smaller size, the red wolf hunts smaller animals than its relative, the gray wolf. Raccoons, rabbits and rodents are its main prey. Large animals such as deer are only incurred when they are sick and weakened. In addition, the red wolf is also carrion.

As gray wolves live in packs red wolves nocturnal. An alpha pair leads the pack and shows the progeny. In a litter there are usually three to six, in very rare cases up to twelve pups. The howling is less noisy and wearing than that of the gray wolf; it should sound like a mixture of the vocalizations of wolves and coyotes.

Due to the hunting of the red wolf a resident inaccessible marshes and mountain regions has become, because only here he survived. Originally, he has but inhabits a variety of habitats and was at home in forests as in the grasslands.

Zoological Status

There is still disagreement as to whether the red wolf is really a distinct species. He has long been regarded as a subspecies of wolf. It was first time in 1968 in a zoological works ( JL Paradiso, " Canids recently collected in east Texas, with comments on the taxonomy of the red wolf" ) performed as an independent species, and several zoologists have since confirmed this view.

Genetic studies of 1991 have led to the discovery that all the genetic material of red wolves wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (Canis latrans ) carry within themselves. From this some have concluded that the red wolf is a hybrid of wolves and coyotes. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that in the - so far only partially decrypted - genome of the red wolves no individual parts have been found yet that would characterize it as a separate species. To be considered as a separate species, an animal with unique genetic traits must have some biologists opinion. However, the previously explored genome of the red wolves also occurs in wolves or coyotes.

Another theory is that the red wolf for a long time, about 1930, pairings with wolves and coyotes especially comes in, maybe even longer, and thus possibly their own genetic material has disappeared. In any case, go wild red wolves one by the extreme danger of its kind pairings with wolves and coyotes, because they can not find conspecific mates.

Swell

• Canis rufus in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN 2006 Posted by: . Kelly et al, 2004 Retrieved on 5 May 2006.