Introduction
Restoring Red Wolves back into the ecosystem will enhance diversity as they will fulfil the predator role. Red Wolves will also control prey populations such as deer and rabbits; These species are a main part of their diet. The Red Wolf species is an ‘umbrella species’; This means that an ecosystem that conserves Red Wolves will most likely maintain a variety of different wildlife and plants (Wheeler, K., Hutt, C. and Schrader, G., 2008).
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
The Red Wolf is within the genus Canis along with seven other recognised species. The genus Canis belongs to the family Canidae which therefore belongs to the order Carnivora; The predatory mammals in this order are characterised by their pair of carnassial teeth. (Sillero-Zubiri, C., Hoffmann, M. and Macdonald, D.W., 2004). The family Canidae is split into two tribes which are Canini and Vulpini. The two tribes are thought to be sister groups. The Canini tribe is divided into two sub-tribes which are Canina and Cerdoyconina. The sub-tribe Canina includes the genus Canis (Tedford, R. 2009).
Description
Red Wolves are medium sized species of wolf, but are smaller than its relatives, the Grey Wolf. Red Wolves have pointed ears and slender legs with large feet. Males are larger than females. The average Red Wolf weighs around 50-80lbs and can grow to 5-foot long. The average lifespan for a Red Wolf in the wild is 6-7 years whereas 15 years in captivity. The Red wolf got its name for the cinnamon coloured fur they possess; Most of their fur is a brown/red colour with dark patches on their backs. Their diet consists of deer and small mammals, but will vary depending on available prey. There is very little information about the Red Wolf habitat as the species was rapidly reduced before research could begin. It’s thought that red wolves live in habitats such as swamps, forests, and wetlands (Ginsberg, J.R. and Macdonald, D.W., 1990).
Red Wolves are nocturnal animals. They communicate primarily by scent marking. Other communication techniques include body postures and facial expressions. Red Wolves either hunt as individuals or in small packs. The complex social structure includes the alpha male and female (breeding pair), and their offspring. The size of the pack varies and consists of dominant and subordinate individuals which allows the pack to function as a group. Red Wolves are monogamous animals therefore only breed with one other individual for life. Red Wolves mating season occurs in late winter where their gestation period last up to 2 months. Red Wolves normally give birth to a litter of 2-8 pups. The dens are usually located in stream banks and inside hollow trees (Anon, 2017).
Distribution
Red Wolves used to inhabit the Eastern and Southcentral United States until the individuals had become an endangered species in the wild in 1967. The Red Wolf distribution map is shown on page 2 in figure 1. A captive breeding program was quickly put in place to enable the species to be reintroduced one day. Around 15 individuals were captured from the wild and placed in zoos to begin the program. The population was later decimated and marked extinct in the wild in 1980. This species only exists because less than 150 individuals were reintroduced in North Carolina, USA in 1987. Red Wolves were introduced by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The abundance outside the reintroduction zone is
unknown. (IUCN, 2008).
Current Conservation Status
The Red Wolf is one of the most endangered canids. The species is thought to be the 11th most endangered animal species in the world. According to IUCN Red List, the Red Wolf is critically endangered, but the population is increasing every year. The Red Wolf is not included in the CITES appendices, but is listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (IUCN, 2008).
Threats
Habitat loss and Fragmentation
The Red Wolves’ habitat was destroyed due to woodlands being cleared for agriculture purposes. Habitat fragmentation is when large areas of habitat are divided into smaller areas, normally due to human activity. This is one of the biggest problems for Red Wolves as they have an extensive range in where they travel. Fragmentation was one of the main causes for the species to become extinct and still threatens them currently; this is due to barriers and development happening on both public and private land (Anon, 2009).
Hybridisation
The main threat with Red Wolves is hybridisation with Coyotes. Hybridisation with Coyotes was detected as a problem after the Red Wolves had become extinct in the wild. The Red Wolf population became increasingly fragmented, which caused isolated individuals to crossbreed with the closely related Coyote (Canis lupus). There are many debates saying that the Red Wolf should be a unique species. In the absence of hybridisation, the Red Wolf population should be able to increase (Anon, 2009).
Other threats
Another reason that caused the Red Wolf population to decline was due to the local farmers; The farmers would shoot the individuals because they were deemed a threat to their livestock. Hunters would also shoot Red Wolves as they were a threat to the game. Other reasons that could reduce the Red Wolves population are severe weather and death by vehicles. Canid diseases remain a threat to Red Wolves. A parovirus, CPV2, could have a serious impact on pup survival (Anon, 2010).
Current Conservation Action Plans
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) started a Red Wolf recovery program after the species was deemed endangered in 1967. They were able to capture more than 10 individuals and place them in captivity before the Red Wolf was classed as extinct in 1980. In 1987, USFWS began to reintroduce Red Wolves in a protected area in North Carolina, USA. The Red Wolf Coalition (RWC) was founded in 1997 and is a non-profit organisation. Their purpose is to provide the public with important information about Red Wolves and their biology and ecology (Anon, 2009). The Red Wolf reintroduction site in North Carolina contains three national wildlife refuges (Alligator River NWR, Pocosin Lakes NWR, and Mattamuskeet NWR); This provides protection for the Wolves (IUCN, 2008).
Aims of Action Plan
There are four main aims of this action plan. The aims are to protect the Red Wolves in the first reintroduction site. The second aim is to reduce hybridisation. The third aim is to reduce habitat fragmentation. Reducing habitat fragmentation will hopefully reduce hybridisation. The last aim of this action plan is educating the public, hunters and farmers about the importance of reintroducing Red Wolves and how critically endangered they are.
Target Audience
The target audience for this action plan will be the general public, the local communities, hunters and conservationists. The action plan will educate these groups to understand the importance of Red Wolves and how they contribute to the ecosystem and diversity in the surrounding area. USFWS and RWC will also be target audiences as they will hopefully fund this action plan.
Projects
Project 1: Second Reintroduction Site
The first reintroduction site that USFWS created, with a lot of work, has slowly become a success. The next proposal is to create a second reintroduction site to increase the Red Wolf population. The second site needs to be suitable for Red Wolves and must resemble their natural habitat. The terrain for their natural habitat is swamp and wetland. The site must be quite large as their movements are quite widespread. The new reintroduction site will be in Pennsylvania, USA; This was once one of their original distributions so reintroducing them will be a step forward to restoring their population back to its historical origination. Pennsylvania also has several forests that will be suitable for Red Wolves. The first step would be to get the new reintroduction site approved by the Government.
This project would be partnered with the USFWS as they created the first reintroduction site. They are also partnered with Red Wolf SSP which deals with the Red Wolf breeding programmes. The new reintroduction site could use Red Wolves from the breeding programmes to reintroduce them to the wild. 50+ Red Wolves will be tagged with radio-collars and released into this site and will be constantly monitored. Every year, a survey will be carried out to monitor the progress of the newly introduced Red Wolves and decide if anything needs to be changed. Conservationists who are trained in this specific area will carry out the radio-collar tagging and release them. The project will also be partnered with RWC so they can promote the new reintroduction site to the general public at events and schools. The site will have full protection. The budget for this project will be £70,000, this is due to there being lots of planning involved when starting a new reintroduction site. The money will also fund the tagging of red wolves, the staff and the security for the site. The timeline for this project will be 5-10 years as finding the ideal reintroduction site is vital.
Project 2: Education/Protection
Although the Red Wolves population is increasing there is still a threat from farm owners and hunters in the first reintroduction site; This is due to Red Wolves being wide-ranging in their movements so individuals would wonder to farms and prey on the livestock. Red Wolves are under threat by hunters because the habitat they live in also accommodates deer, and when it’s deer season, the Red Wolves are killed so that they don’t disrupt the deer population. Education is vital and the more support from the general public, the better the success rates will be for the Red Wolves population. This project will be partnered with USFWS and RWC because both organisations promote the reintroduction of Red Wolves through festivals, schools, presentations to community groups etc. (Wheeler, K., Hutt, C. and Schrader, G. ,2008). This will allow public support and donations to be made. The timeline for this project will be 1 year to allow the local communities to be taught the importance of reintroducing Red Wolves to the area and how critically endangered they are. The budget for this project will be £10,000 because conservation teachers and resources will need to be funded. Surveys and Questionnaires will be carried out to see if the public are finding the presentations useful and how they could be improved.
Project 3: Preventing Habitat Fragmentation
As the human world expands, natural habitats for wildlife become smaller. An ideal solution would be to have a conservation easement; This would be an agreement between private landowners and the government to prevent any development on certain areas. The landowners can either voluntarily donate or sell their land. The conservation easement allows the owners to keep the land and keep growing crops, but with the understanding that no subdivide or development can occur on this land (Biles, L., 2014). This project is ideal for local farmers because each agreement is individually tailored to meet the landowners needs and conservation plans. There are also tax benefits that come with the conservation easement. If landowners choose to sell their land, the conservation easement will be passed onto the next landowner (Anon, 2003).
This project will require hiring staff and resources to monitor the lands and ensure that the easements are followed. Ideal partners to have with this project are USFWS and RWC; This is because USFWS will be able to share the cost of the project, whilst RWC will be able to promote and educate local landowners the benefits of a conservation easement. This will allow Red Wolves more land to roam freely and prevent habitat fragmentation thus reducing hybridisation as well. The timeline of this project will be 7 years as it takes around 6-12 months for a conservation easement to be completed, and it can take up to 3 years to convey purchased easements due to funding. This project will take longer than other projects as there’s lots of legislation involved. Every year, surveying and monitoring will be carried out to see if the conservation easement is a suitable solution for reducing habit fragmentation. The cost for this project varies as landowners own different sized lands, and the land might be voluntarily donated. The budget for this project will be £60,000 plus funding from partnerships.
Project 4: Prevention of Hybridisation
Red wolf/Coyote hybridisation is one of the main threats to the survival of the Red Wolf species. The main goal is to reduce interbreeding between Red Wolves and Coyotes because without human intervention, a small Red Wolf population would lose its genetic identity by Coyotes. The Coyote has a medium sized body, and has a slender snout, pointed ears and a bushy tail. Their fur is brown with a hint of grey. Coyotes live in terrains such as swamps, grasslands, deserts etc. Their diet consists mainly of rabbits, but will also prey on young, weaker animals (Ginsberg, J.R. and Macdonald, D.W., 1990). Hybrids have larger bodies than Red Wolves and Coyotes, which reduces their fitness; This also reduces the Hybrids hunting efficiency. Hybrids also have shorter snouts (Bohling, J.H. and Waits, L.P., 2015).
Neutering the hybrids will prevent anymore breeding therefore reducing the population. It could also possibly reduce the rate of emigration of hybrids and access into the Red Wolf population. Another option could be to neuter the Coyotes in the area; This should give the Red Wolves a chance to become the dominant species and be able to reproduce and increase the population
Projects
Timeline
Budget
Partnerships
Project 1
5- 10 years
£70,000
USFWS, SSP, RWC
Project 2
1 year
£10,000
USFWS, RWC
Project 3
7 years
£60,000
USFWS, RWC
Project 4
5 years
£30,000
USFWS, RWC
(Rabon Jr, D.R., Bartel, R. and Beyer, A., 2013).
A survey should be carried out to count the number of Hybrids, Coyotes, and Red Wolves habited in the area at the start of the project. 50+ Coyotes and Hybrids will be tagged with radio-collars. They will be
captured, processed, neutered, and released back into the area. The reintroduced Red Wolves are already tagged from USFWS when they started the first reintroduction site. The neutering will occur at a local veterinary hospital. Veterinarians and the conservationists that work at the reintroduction site, and are trained in this area, will work together to carry out this project.
The aim of this project is to have reduced the number of Hybrids and Coyotes dramatically in the next five years therefore allowing the Red Wolf population to thrive in the area. The survey will be carried out every year to ensure the neutering is reducing the Hybrid and Coyote populations. The budget for this project will be £30,000 as the funding will be used for veterinary costs, which will then be split with USFWS.
Partnerships
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the main organisation that deals with the conservation of Red Wolves. They are partnered with Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP); This consists of a collection of
nature centres and zoos that help to conserve Red Wolves; the Red Wolves breeding programmes began in these zoos. USFWS is also partnered with Red Wolf Coalition (RWC); This non-profit organisation teaches the public the important of the reintroduction of Red Wolves (Anon, 2009).
Table 1 above presents the budgets for the four projects in this action plan. The table includes the timeline, budget and partnerships for each project. The timeline for the action plan to be completed is 10 years. The budget for this action plan is £170,000.