Red Wolf Fostering A Success
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proud to announce initial success in an attempt to foster captive-born red wolf pups into the wild. Two pups inserted into a wild wolf den earlier in the year (2002) have been confirmed to be alive and well. This success marks new potential for fostering as an effective tool in red wolf recovery.
In May of 2002, the North Carolina Zoological Park donated two red wolf pups to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Red Wolf Recovery Program to help foster the captive-born pups into the world’s only wild red wolf population. The two-week-old siblings, one male and one female, were transferred to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and later inserted into the den of a wild female wolf. The adult female, who was already raising two wild-born pups, accepted the zoo pups as her own and went about the daily business of raising a litter of four pups of similar age. Throughout the summer, red wolf biologists monitored the pack from a distance using radio telemetry. However, the pups were routinely well hidden in thick vegetation, and attempts to confirm their status visually were unsuccessful.
In November 2002, all four pups of this litter were not only seen but captured and found to be in excellent health. The pups were 7 months old, large enough to be fitted with radio-telemetry collars. The young male zoo-pup was captured on November 26, 2002 and weighed approximately 44 pounds. One of his wild-born littermates was also captured that day, and it weighed 47 pounds. The second wild-born male pup was captured on December 12, 2002, and he weighed 53 pounds. Finally, after much effort and anticipation, the female zoo-pup was captured on December 15, 2002. She weighed 44 pounds. Each pup was given a physical exam and vaccinations against parvo-virus, distemper and rabies. Each was also fitted with a radio collar and released back into the wild. All four pups returned to their original territory and rejoined their family group.
Fostering has been a successful practice within the red wolf captive breeding program, but this marks the first time zoo-born red wolves have been placed into the wild at a very young age. To date, all red wolves released into the wild have been young adult wolves, often coming from island propagation sites in South Carolina and Florida.
The ability to foster captive-born red wolves into wild populations holds many positive implications for the recovery of endangered red wolves. Fostering offers a unique and exciting way to release captive-born wolves into the wild. It also enhances the genetic diversity of the wild red wolf population. Fostering pups at a very young age increases their overall chance of survival because it allows the pups to be raised by a wild mother.
Through its participation in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP), the North Carolina Zoological Park plays an essential role in red wolf recovery. This zoo and 36 others that participate in the Species Survival Plan provide housing, care and breeding expertise for captive red wolves. Bud Fazio, Team Leader for the Red Wolf Recovery Program praises the work of these facilities. “We work hard to restore red wolves back into the wild. Participants in the Captive Breeding Program are vital to red wolf recovery. We thank our SSP cooperators for maintaining the red wolf population long enough for us to develop and implement an effective plan to restore red wolves to the wild where they can live out their lives wild and free."
This article was adapted from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release on December 20, 2002. [top]
Local Landowner A Friend to Red Wolves
Mr. Reggie Rutledge of Germanton, NC is a landowner and a hunter. He is also a supporter of the Red Wolf Recovery Program and with his two daughters is providing valuable field assistance to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists.
One day in November 2000, Mr. Rutledge spotted what he believed to be a red wolf on his property. He was able to get some video tape footage of this exciting event. Then, because he had picked up a Hunter Outreach Initiative Brochure in the fall of 2002, Mr. Rutledge discovered that U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and the Red Wolf Coalition were anxious for reports of red wolf sightings. Mr. Rutledge called Aubrey Remige, Executive Director of the Coalition, and told her about the video tape. At her request, Mr. Rutledge sent the tape to be copied and viewed by USFWS biologists.
In January 2003, just after the big storm that swept over eastern North Carolina, Mr. Rutledge was out on the water early one morning, about 7:00. He heard howls coming from the woods along the shoreline and noted the howls were spaced at 17-minute intervals. He also spotted bald eagles and a bear. Because of the tracks along the shoreline, Mt. Rutledge surmised that wolves were eating the cold-stunned minnows close to the shore.
Mr. Rutledge’s observations and reporting are of great value to the USFWS biologists. Red wolves are elusive, and many of them inhabit areas of dense vegetative covering which makes observing them difficult. Radio telemetry has greatly enhanced the biologists’ ability to locate radio-collared wolves. Approximately 63 wild red wolves and 15 sterilized hybrids are fitted with radio collars. But some wolves are not collared. In addition, the biologists cannot be everywhere, even with the aid of a mobile telemetry vehicle. Thus, the cooperation of landowners and hunters like Reggie Rutledge are important in providing data on red wolf locations, movements and interactions with neighboring packs. For example, Mr. Rutledge’s land was confirmed by biologists to be surrounded and/or occupied by three red wolf packs. While it is not known at this writing exactly which wolves are on Mr. Rutledge’s property, his information will assist the Red Wolf Recovery Team in gathering data. The biologists are looking forward to working with Mr. Rutledge.
Mr. Rutledge stated that he did not mind having red wolves on his land, and he does not want the Service to remove them. He is ideally suited to carry out observations since he hunts on his property along with his two daughters. Gina, his younger daughter, is already an accomplished hunter who, thanks to her father, appreciates the special beauty of eastern North Carolina with its rich abundance of wildlife. Gina did mention, however, that a bald eagle was eying her cat “Snow”!
The Red Wolf Coalition sends a special thank-you to Mr. Rutledge both for the video footage and for providing ongoing information about the wolves on his land. Through the Hunter Outreach Initiative, the Coalition and the Service hope to continue building relationships with eastern North Carolina residents who can provide field assistance because they spend so much time outdoors, observing and interacting with wildlife. As part of the Hunter Outreach Initiative, hunters and landowners can pick up brochures containing a form for reporting possible sightings of red wolves.
If you would like to have a Hunter Outreach Initiative brochure with the attached form for reporting possible red wolf sightings, please call the Red Wolf Coalition at (252) 441-3946 or e-mail redwolf@coastalnet.com. [top]
Email Updates
All members who want to receive e-mail news updates should call the Red Wolf Coalition at 252-441-3946 or e-mail the Coalition at redwolf@coastalnet.com. Updates will be sent when there is news!
Fund Raising Challenge and Appeal
We are issuing a special challenge and appeal to each member and supporter. If every one of you could tell just one friend about the Red Wolf Coalition and get him or her to join, we would double our effectiveness. Red Wolf Coalition board members are searching for funding sources to build the Red Wolf Center on the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge near the town on Columbia. We need our members and supporters in this effort. We are looking for individual and corporate donors. If you can help, please contact Aubrey Remige, Executive Director at (252) 441-3946 or email her at redwolf@coastalnet.com. [top]
Major Donors
| Barbara Davis |
Sam and Jackie Remige |
Camp Canine |
| Jim and Patty Rouse |
Roger Halverson Foundation |
Peter Kumpe |
| Teddy Rouse |
Isaac Neuberger |
Robert Wallace |
Red Wolf News From Here and There
Mange Claims Lives of Wolves
Mange, a condition caused by microscopic mites that burrow beneath the skin, causes intense itching and hair loss. Although affected animals may recover, hair loss and a weakened immune system can be life-threatening to wolves, especially in cold weather. This winter, a pair of wolves in Hyde County succumbed to mange, as did the breeding female of the Milltail pack. A new female has now moved into the Milltail pack area and was caught by biologists with the alpha male of the pack. Both animals are being held temporarily and are being treated for mange before release. Unusually cold weather and several inches of snow in eastern North Carolina reduced the chances for survival of infected wolves.
Attack Fatal to Animal Believed to be a Coyote
Wolves are fiercely territorial. Because they live in packs and raise their young in families, they must protect their food source. Dispersal is a risky business for young wolves in search of mates or for wolves that have lost their status within a pack. If they intrude on the territory of an established pack, their lives may be in jeopardy. The same is true for other canid trespassers. Coyotes, for example, are often killed by wolves, especially if they are not vigilant when scavenging a carcass.
On November 12, 2002 at the western end of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, biologists found the body of a small female canid they determined was a coyote based on morphology. Her wounds indicated she had been killed by another canid or perhaps several. Circumstances suggest she may have been attacked by wolf #11030, a breeding female from a pack living on the Refuge. Biologists do know the dead female had been traveling with a male red wolf, and although it is unconfirmed, observations indicate this male could now be paired with a female wolf. It is possible this female wolf inflicted the fatal wounds, but biologists will not know if the two animals are paired together until they can catch her. There is potential good news here if the field crew can verify that red wolves are pairing up with other red wolves and not coyotes!
Chattanooga Nature Center Chosen as Breeding Facility
A new litter of pups may be on the way for a red wolf pair at the Chattanooga Nature Center. The Center was recently designated as a breeding facility for the endangered red wolf. Will Waddell, coordinator of the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan, said the well-maintained Center was chosen because it is an excellent facility and because of its proximity to an urban area where people can visit and learn about red wolves.
A New Member of the Pack
Bud Fazio, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Team Leader for the Red Wolf Recovery Program, and his wife are the proud parents of a boy born on February 5, 2002. The Red Wolf Coalition sends congratulations and best wishes to the Fazio family! [top]
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