North Carolina is actively working to protect the critically endangered red wolf. Only 17 to 19 red wolves remain in the wild due to habitat loss, human interference, coyote hybridization, and vehicle collisions.
Urban growth and deforestation have divided the wolves' habitats, making it harder for them to find homes and food. The reduction in the habitat available has resulted in interbreeding with coyotes, which threatens the genetic integrity of the red wolf population.
Red wolves are highly social animals that mate for life and raise their pups together as a family. When a breeding male or female is killed, it destabilizes the entire pack, breaking apart family units and reducing reproduction. Red wolves will cross roads in search of food, mates, or new territory, which puts them at risk of highway fatalities.
Five red wolf pups died after the death of their father and subsequent abandonment by their mother in eastern North Carolina, one of the last places where the species still survives in the wild. The litter was born in the spring of 2024 to a breeding pair designated 2413F and 2444M. Tragically, shortly after their birth, the father, 2444M, was struck and killed by a vehicle on U.S. Highway 64 in early June 2024.
Following her mate’s death, their mother, 2413F, abandoned the litter, which is not uncommon for first-time wolf mothers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which closely monitors the red wolf population, found no indication that the litter born to 2413F and 2444M survived, as no sign of the pups was discovered during their efforts.
"Pup survival is always a concern after the mortality of one of the breeding pair, particularly red wolves with their first litter, as was the case with this pair," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated in a September 2024 press release update.
A federal grant of $25 million has been awarded to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The grant will fund the construction of wildlife underpasses and fencing along U.S. Highway 64 in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge of Dare County to reduce vehicle collisions. These measures will work to reduce threats and support the recovery of the red wolf population.