Red Wolf Recovery Program Update

The Red Wolf Coalition / November, 2004

Below are the latest data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding activity in the free-ranging population of red wolves. Members of the USFWS Red Wolf Recovery Team also keep a journal of their weekly field activities.

Free-Ranging Animals

Collared wolves: 61

Collared hybrids/Sterile hybrids: 12

Number of wolf packs and pairs: 22

known or suspected: 7 in Zone 1, 10 in Zone 2, 5 in Zone 3

Dispersal, displacement, or wide ranging movements:

(1) 11298, a yearling female from the Ventures pack, left her natal home range at the end of August and moved a few miles northwest near New Lake.

(2) 11180F, a two year-old female, may have been displaced by a breeding female from the adjacent pack. We had to amputate a hind leg from 11180 as an 8 month-old pup as a result of unknown damage to her leg. She left her current home range at the end of August and briefly moved to the edge of her natal home range. She is still showing wide-ranging movements;

(3) 11165F was captured earlier in the summer near the Ventures pack and was held to treat for mange. She was released in July and appears to have been displaced by the resident breeding female. 11165 has since moved north near Columbia, between 2 other groups (this female was born on Bulls Island and first released in northeastern North Carolina in early 2003);

(4) Male 11112 was displaced by a younger male that moved into the area. 11112 had moved back to his natal home range to become the breeding male, pairing with a female wolf from another pack. After being displaced, he returned to his former territory near Mattamuskeet Lake.
 

Changes in Wild Wolf Population

Births: none

Deaths: 1 total11325, a male born this spring from the Beech Ridge pack, was apparently hit by a vehicle on a paved road. This pup has been transpondered in May at the den. The carcass was almost a week old, and damage to the skeleton and skull was indicative of a vehicle strike.

First time captures: 0

Releases from captivity: Management removals (problem animals): 0

Fate unknown or disappearance:(1) we lost contact with 11001M in August. This male was displaced by a male wolf last winter, but has remained in the area south of Columbia. It's possible that the collar battery quit, as it was an older one.(2) 11266F disappeared in September after recently pairing with a lone breeding male. We will begin trapping the area to determine if she is still present or if another female moved in.