Red Wolves started facing the danger of extinction mainly from 1900-1920. This threat was caused by farmers who had started hunting red wolves because they were slaughtering their cattle. Since then the red wolf population has been cut down to about 300. The red wolf was placed on the endangered lists in 1967. Most of these few wolves are held in zoos to keep the threat of extinction to a minimum.(information found on www.thewildones.com)
These rare animals only weigh 40-80 pounds. The red wolves mate between February and March each year, and both parents help raise the pup until it is mature. During the 1900s red wolves spanned from Pennsylvania to Texas, but are now confined to zoos. Normally a red wolf needs 10-100 square miles to hunt and live, but since most of America is being populated by humans red wolves have no free land.(information found on thewildones.org/animals/redwolf)
Red wolves usually have a diet consisting of white-tailed deer, raccoon, rabbit, pigs, rats, nutria, and muskrats. They will hunt in a area for 7-10 days, and then they will find another area to hunt in. Red wolves usually inhabit mountains, lowland forests, and wetlands.(animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu written by:Michael Mulheisen)
Red wolf packs are usually small and consist of only a mated pair and their offspring. These packs build a den within a hollow tree trunk, sandy knolls, or a stream bank. Sometimes red wolves will act aggressivley towards other red wolves over territory or food.(information found on animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu written by:Michael Mulheisen)
The red wolf population is being worked on by zoos and conservation societies all over America. They are being bred and introduced to their natural habitats in order to restore them to the land once more. There are two main territories where the red wolf is being worked on being released into the wild the most. These two areas are the Smoky Mountains and North Carolina.(information found on animaldiversity.ummz.umich written by: Michael Mulheisen, thewildones.org/animals/redwolf)
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