Mexican Gray Wolves
The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) or “lobo” is the most genetically distinct lineage of gray wolves in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most endangered mammals in North America. By the mid-1980s, hunting, trapping, and poisoning caused the extinction of lobos in the wild, with only a handful remaining in captivity. In 1998 the wolves were reintroduced into the wild as part of a federal reintroduction program under the Endangered Species Act. Today in the U.S., there is a single wild population comprising only 131 individuals - an increase from the 114 counted at the end of 2017.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Mexican Wolf Recovery Program Documents are posted on the FWS Southwest website. To view, please click here.
FWS’s Mexican Wolf Recovery Program: Progress Reports
- 2017 U.S. Mexican Wolf Population Survey Completed
- Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Plan First Revision November 2017
- 2015 Progress Report
- 2014 Progress Report
- 2013 Progress Report
- Addendum to the 2012 Mexican Wolf Minimum Population Estimate
- 2012 Progress Report with Addendum
- Addendum to the 2011 Mexican Wolf Minimum Population Estimate
- 2011 Progress Report with Addendum
- 2010 Progress Report
- 2009 Progress Report
- 2008 Progress Report
- 2007 Interagency Field Team Annual Report
- 2006 Annual Progress Report
- 2005 Annual Progress Report
- 2004 Annual Progress Report
- 2003 Annual Progress Report
- 2002 Annual Progress Report
- 2001 Annual Progress Report
MEXICAN WOLF ARTICLES
- 2017 Critics pan wolf plan Recovery plan for Mexican wolf promises no new U.S. habitat. States are pleased; some biologists are dismayed by Cally Carswell, Science Magazine
- 2006 The Bureaucratically Imperiled Mexican Wolf by Anthony Povilitis, David R. Parsons, Michael J. Robinson, and C. Dusti Becker
MEXICAN WOLF RESEARCH
- 2018 Genetic rescue, not genetic swamping, is important for Mexican wolves. (Letter to the Editor) by Philip Hedrick, Robert Wayne, Richard Fredrickson
- 2018 Perils of recovering the Mexican wolf outside of its historical range. (Perspective) by Odell, Heffelfinger, Rosenstock, Bishop, Liley, González-Bernal, Velasco, Martínez-Meyere
- 2015 Re-defining historical geographic range in species with sparse records: Implications for the Mexican wolf reintroduction program by Hendricks, Callas, Sesink, Clee, Figura, Harrigan, Wayne, Pollinger, and Freedman
- 2015 Mexican Wolves Are a Valid Subspecies and an Appropriate Conservation Target by Fredrickson, Hedrick, Wayne, vonHoldt, and Phillips
- 2015 Live Births from Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) Embryos Produced by In Vitro Fertilization via the journal Public Library of Science ONE
- 2015 Cross-Fostering in Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) by Inger Scharis and Mats Amundin
- 2014 “Use it or Lose it”: Characterization, Implications, and Mitigation of Female Infertility in Captive Wildlife"
- 2013 Developing Metapopulation Connectivity Criteria from Genetic and Habitat Data to Recover the Endangered Mexican Wolf by Carlos Carroll, Richard Fredrickson, and Robert C Lacy
- 2013 Tolerance by Denning Wolves, Canis lupus,to Human Disturbance by Richard P. Thiel Samuel Merrill and L. David Mech
- 2011 Genetics and wolf conservation in the American West: lessons and challenges by R Wayne and P Hedrick
- 2010 Mexican wolves, elk, and aspen in Arizona: Is there a trophic cascade? by Robert L. Beschta, William J. Ripple
- 2007 Genetic rescue and inbreeding depression in Mexican wolves by Richard J. Fredrickson, Peter Siminski, Melissa Woolf and Philip W. Hedrick
- 2006 Diets of Free-Ranging Mexican Gray Wolves in Arizona and New Mexico
- 2006 Reintroduction of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) to the Southwestern United States: An economic perspective by Timm Kroeger, Frank Casey, and Chris Haney
BOOKS
- 2008 "Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators." William Stoltzenburg
- 2005 "Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West" Michael J. Robinson
WEBSITES
OTHER
- Cows Kill More People in the U.S. Annually than Wolves do... via Defenders of Wildlife
- 2013 Mexican Gray Wolves 2013:The Time For Recovery Is Now via Defenders of Wildlife
- Livestock and Wolves: A Guide to Nonlethal Tolls and Methods to Reduce Conflicts
Geneticist Rich Fredrickson explains the importance of releasing more endangered Mexican gray wolves from the captive population into the wild.
Red Wolves
The red wolf (Canis rufus) is one of the world’s most endangered wild canids. Once common throughout the southeastern United States, red wolf populations were decimated by the 1960s due to intensive predator control programs and loss of habitat. A remnant population of red wolves was found along the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana. After being declared an endangered species in 1973, efforts were initiated to locate and capture as many wild red wolves as possible. Of the 17 remaining wolves captured by biologists, 14 became the founders of a successful captive breeding program.
The current estimate puts the only wild population of red wolves at their lowest level since the late 1990s. Only 11 red wolves are known to remain in the wild.
The Red Wolf SSP meets annually to develop recommendations that guide breeding and transfer objectives for the living population. These recommendations are are posted on the RWSSP website.
RWSSP Population Analysis and Breeding and Transfer Recommendations
- SSP Recommendations: 2018
- SSP Recommendations: 2016
- SSP Recommendations: 2015
- SSP Recommendations: 2014
- SSP Recommendations: 2010
- SSP Recommendations: 2009
- SSP Recommendations: 2008
- SSP Recommendations: 2007
- SSP Recommendations: 2006
- SSP Recommendations: 2005
- SSP Recommendations: 2004
- SSP Recommendations: 2003
- SSP Recommendations: 2002
- SSP Recommendations: 2001
- SSP Recommendations: 2000
- SSP Recommendations: 1999
- SSP Recommendations: 1998
- SSP Recommendations: 1997
Red Wolf Studbooks
A studbook is a pedigree that identifies a red wolf with its own unique “studbook number” and follows that animal throughout all events in its lifetime. The studbook is an important tool that is used when making breeding and transfer recommendations.
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2013
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2012
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2011
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2010
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2009
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2008
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2007
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2006
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2005
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2004
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2003
- Red Wolf Studbook: 2002
Recovery Program Documents
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service provides additional recovery program documents as downloadable pdf files on its website here.
RED WOLF ARTICLES
- 2018 "Rule to Allow Hunting Could Doom Rare Red Wolves" (National Geographic) June 2018
- 2018 "Interior Department Plans to Let People Kill Endangered Red Wolves" (Washington Post) June 2018
- 2018 "With Only 30 Red Wolves Left in the Wild, These 10 Newborn Pups Are Big News" (People Magazine) June 2018
- 2018 "Rewilding’ Missing Carnivores May Help Restore Some Landscapes" (The New York Times) March 2018
- 2018 "CAN RED WOLVES BE SAVED AGAIN?" (Washingon Post) February 2018
- 2016 "This Could Be The Last Red Wolf You'll Ever See" (Dodo) Dec 2016
- 2016 "Rare Wolf or Common Coyote? It Shouldn't Matter, But It Does." (Smithsonian Magazine) 2016
- 2016 "Undermining the red wolf’s recovery in North Carolina" Jamie Rappaport Clark
- 2015 "What's A Species, Anyways?" by Ben Crair via New Republic
- 2015 "Red Wolf Wars" by Ben Prater via Blue Ridge Outdoors
- 2014 "Red Wolf in the Crosshairs" via sciencemag.org
- 2013 "A Closer Look at Red Wolf Recovery: A Conversation with Dr. David R. Rabon" By Neil Hutt via International Wolf Magazine (page 10)
- 2013 “Are red wolves worth the trouble?” by T. DeLene Beeland via Slate Magazine
- 2012 "Extirpated in the wild: recovering the red wolf” by Will Waddell and David Rabon, Jr. via World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
- 2012 "Song of the South" via UK Wolf Conservation Trust Magazine.
- 2010 "Return to the Wild" via UK Wolf Conservation Trust Magazine.
- 2007 "Red Wolf Restoration: A 20-Year Journey" by Diane Hendry via International Wolf Magazine (page 4)
- 2007 “Hunter Education and Red Wolf Restoration” by David Denton via International Wolf Magazine (page 20)
- 2007 “Back from the Brink of Extinction: The Red Wolf Species Survival Program” by Will Waddell via International Wolf Magazine (page 20)
- 2007 “Free to Wander” by David Rabon, Jr. via International Wolf Magazine (page 15)
RED WOLF WEBINARS
- 2018 ECOLOGY, MANAGEMENT, AND RECOVERY OF RED WOLVES IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA, Joseph Hinton, Ph.D.
- 2018 The Red Wolf: Disease, Genetics, and the Future, with Kristin Brzeski, PhD.
RED WOLF RESEARCH
- 2020 Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs, Nagashima et al
- 2018 Rediscovery Of Red Wolf Ghost Alleles in a Canid Population Along the American Gulf Coast,Heppenheimer et al
- 2018 Substantial red wolf genetic ancestry persists in wild canids of southwestern Louisiana, Murphy et al
- 2018 Cross-fostering as a conservation tool to augment endangered carnivore populations, Gese et al
- 2018 Using policy goals to evaluate red wolf reintroduction in eastern North Carolina, Christopher Serenari, et al
- 2018 Is the Red Wolf a Listable Unit Under the US Endangered Species Act?, Waples et al
- 2018 Size-assortative choice and mate availability influences hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans), Joey Hinton
- 2017 Range contractions of the world's large carnivores, Christopher Wolf, William J. Ripple
- 2017 Using diets of Canis breeding pairs to assess resource partitioning between sympatric red wolves and coyotes, Joseph Hinton et al
- 2016 Polling Finds North Carolina Voters Strongly Back Red Wolf Recovery(Tulchin Research)
- 2016 Whole-genome sequence analysis shows that two endemic species of North American wolf are admixtures of the coyote and gray wolf (vonHoldt et al, Science Advances)
- 2016 A SURVEY OF DISEASES IN CAPTIVE RED WOLVES (CANIS RUFUS), 1997–2012 by Kathryn E. Seeley, D.V.M. et al
- 2016 Describing a developing hybrid zone between red wolves and coyotes in eastern North Carolina, USA by Justin H. Bohling et al
- 2016 Mitochondrial DNA Variation in Southeastern pre-Columbian canids by Brzeski et al (abstract only)
- 2015 Using the “placeholder” concept to reduce genetic introgression of an endangered carnivore
- 2015 Live Births from Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) Embryos Produced by In Vitro Fertilization via the journal Public Library of Science ONE
- 2014 “Use it or Lose it”: Characterization, Implications, and Mitigation of Female Infertility in Captive Wildlife
- 2012 An account of the taxonomy of North American wolves from morphological and genetic analyses by Steven Chambers, Steven Fain, Bud Fazio, and Michael Amaral via North American Fauna
- 2011 A genome-wide perspective on the evolutionary history of enigmatic wolf-like canids via Genome Research
- 2006 Dynamics of hybridization and introgression in red wolves and coyotes by Fredrickson RJ, Hedrick PW via Conservation Biology
- 2007 Analyzing a Prospective Red Wolf (Canis rufus) Reintroduction Site for Suitable Habitat
- 2002 The Original Status of Wolves in Eastern North America by Robert M. Nowak via Southeastern Naturalist
BOOKS
- 2013 "The Secret World of Red Wolves: The Fight to Save North America's Other Wolf" by T. DeLene Beeland
- 2013 "Return of the Red Wolf: A Red Wolf Graphic Novel" by by Craig Standridge and Beth Graham
- 2003 “Restoration of the Red Wolf” by Michael K. Phillips, V. Gary Henry and Brian T. Kelly, via "Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation," (Chapter 11)
- 1993 "Meant to Be Wild: The Struggle to Save Endangered Species Through Captive Breeding" by Jan DeBlieu
WEBSITES
- Red Wolf Species Survival Plan
- Red Wolf Coalition
- U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service: Red Wolf Recovery Program
- Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium Red Wolf Species Survival Program
OTHER
Eastern Wolves
According to recent genomic research, eastern wolves, previously considered a subspecies of gray wolf, Canis lupus lycaon, actually represent a separate species (Canis lycaon). Algonquin wolves, also referred to as Eastern wolves, are classified as a “threatened” species. The wolves are found only in a handful of places, including Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada. The Eastern wolf has disappeared from almost all of southern Ontario, largely as a result of loss of habitat through forest clearance and farmland development. Hybridization could also be a potential long-term threat to the genetic integrity of Eastern Wolf populations.
Less than 500 Eastern wolves remain in the wild; most Eastern wolves live in central Ontario and western Quebec, and with the highest population densities found in Algonquin Provincial Park.
- Population Genomic Analysis of North American Eastern Wolves (Canis lycaon) Supports Their Conservation Priority Status Heppenheimer et al, 2018
- Failing to Protect a Threatened Species: Ontario Allows Hunting and Trapping of the Algonquin Wolf (Ontario Environmental Protection Report 2017, Ontario Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe) 2017
- Ungulate predation and ecological roles of wolves and coyotes in eastern North America (Benson et al, Ecological Applications) 2017
- Whole-genome sequence analysis shows that two endemic species of North American wolf are admixtures of the coyote and gray wolf (vonHoldt et al, Science Advances) 2016
- Rare Wolf or Common Coyote? It Shouldn't Matter, But It Does. (Smithsonian Magazine) 2016
- Ontario Species at Risk Evaluation Report for Algonquin Wolf (Canis sp.), an evolutionarily significant and distinct hybrid with Canis lycaon, C. latrans, and C. lupus ancestry, (Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO)), 2016
- COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Eastern Wolf Canis sp. cf. lycaon in Canada, (COSEWIC - Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), 2015
- Recent Occurences if Wild-origin Wolves (Canis spp.) in Canada South of the St. Lawrence River Revealed by Stable Isotope and Genetic Analysis, (Donald F. McAlpine, et al.), 2015
- RAD sequencing and genomic simulations resolve hybrid origins within North American Canis, (Rutledge et al.), 2015
- Wolf? Coyote? Coywolf? Understanding WolfHybrids Just Got a Bit Easier, (The Nature Conservancy), 2015
- Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) Dyad Monthly Association Rates by Demographic Group, (Meyer and Mech), 2015
- Hybridization Dynamics between Wolves and Coyotes in Central Ontario, (Benson, Wheeldon & Patterson), 2013 (PowerPoint Presentation)
- Use of cranial characters in taxonomy of the Minnesota wolf (Canis sp.), (Mech, Nowak, Weisberg), 2011
- Wolf family values - The exquisitely balanced social life of the wolf has implications far beyond the pack, (New Scientist), 2010
- Non-genetic Data Supporting Genetic Evidence for the Eastern Wolf, (Mech), 2011
- Genetic and morphometric analysis of sixteenth-century Canis skull fragments: implications for historic eastern and gray wolf distribution in North America, (Rutledge et al.), 2009
- Genetic characterization of Canis populations in the western Great Lakes region, (Wheeldon), 2009
- Genetic Characterization of Hybrid Wolves across Ontario, (Wilson et al), 2009
- DNA profiles of the eastern Canadian wolf and the red wolf provide evidence for a common evolutionary history independent of the gray wolf, (Wilson et al.), 2000
Eastern Coyotes
There is a wild hybrid canid living in the eastern United States, and it is the result of evolution occurring right under our noses!
Over the years these dynamic canids have acquired a number of nicknames. Both "Coywolf" and “Coydog” have been growing in popularity; however, the majority of the scientific community prefer the less flashy moniker: “Eastern Coyote.” It's no surprise that "wolf" and "dog" have been woven into the identity of wild canids in the region, as current science indicates a number of species are represented within the genome of the eastern coyote. Ecologist and evolutionary biologist Javier Monzón, previously at Stony Brook University in New York, now at Pepperdine University in California, analyzed the DNA of 437 eastern coyotes and found the genes contain all three canids -- dog, wolf and coyote. According to Monzón's research, about 64% of the eastern coyote's genome is coyote (Canis latrans), 13% gray wolf (Canis lupus), 13% Eastern wolf (Canis lycaon), and 10% dog (Canis familiaris).
ARTICLES
- Translating the Song Dog: What coyotes are saying when they howl, (Jaymi Heimbuch, The Natural History of the Urban Coyote), 2016
- Stop Killing Coyotes, (Dan Flores, The New York Times), 2016
- Yes, eastern coyotes are hybrids, but the ‘coywolf’ is not a thing, (Roland Kays), 2015
SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
- Home range size, vegetation density, and season influences prey use by coyotes (Canis latrans) (Hinton and Ward, PLOS One) 2018
- Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America (Hody and Kays, ZooKeys) 2018
- Initial colonization of Long Island, New York by the eastern coyote, Canis latrans (Carnivora, Canidae), including first record of breeding (Nagy et al, Check List Journal) 2017
- Ungulate predation and ecological roles of wolves and coyotes in eastern North America (Benson et al, Ecological Applications) 2017
- Response: Comment on “northeastern coyote/coywolf” taxonomy and admixture: a response to Way and Lynn. (Wheeldon, Patterson) 2017
- Response: Northeastern coyote cannot be a distinct species without isolation: a response to Way and Lynn. (Kays, Monzón) 2017
- Northeastern coyote/coywolf taxonomy and admixture: A meta-analysis (Way and Lynn), 2016
- SUNY ESF prof: Coyotes everywhere in NYS, but impact on deer numbers is 'minimal', 2015
- When shooting a coyote kills a wolf: Mistaken identity or misguided management? (Newsome, Bruskotter, and Ripple), 2015
- Population Status and Foraging Ecology of Eastern Coyotes in New York State (Frair and Gibbs); This research was initiated to assess the abundance of coyote populations in New York State and evaluate potential impacts of coyote predation on deer populations; 2014
- Perspectives on the conservation of wild hybrids (Stronen and Paquet); 2013
- The Rise of the Mesopredator (Prugh et al); 2009
Wolf Behavior and Ecology
- Disentangling canid howls across multiple species and subspecies: Structure in a complex communication channel; (Kershenbaum et al), 2016.
- Wolf howling is mediated by relationship quality rather than underlying emotional stress; Current Biology, (Mazzini et al), 2013.
- A Comparison of Facial Color Pattern and Gazing Behavior in Canid Species Suggests Gaze Communication in Gray Wolves (Canis lupus); PLoS One, (Ueda et al), 2014.
- The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality, (Gaynor et al), 2018
- Fear of large carnivores causes a trophic cascade, (Justin P. Suraci et al), 2016
- Wolf visitations close to human residences in Finland: The role of age, residence density, and time of day, (Ilpo Kojolaet al), 2016
- Food habits of the world’s grey wolves, (Thomas Newsome et al), 2016
- Implications of Harvest on the Boundaries of Protected Areas for Large Carnivore Viewing Opportunities, (Bridget L. Borg et al), 2016
- Effects of predation risk on elk (Cervus elaphus) landscape use in a wolf (Canis lupus) dominated system, (Eisenberg, Hibbs, and Ripple), 2015
- The Importance and Benefits of Species, (Gascon et al), 2015
- Lessons from the Wild Lab - Yellowstone Park is a real-world laboratory of predator-prey relations, (Morell), 2015
- The unique ecology of human predators, (Darimont et al), 2015
- A continental scale trophic cascade from wolves through coyotes to foxes, (Newcome and Ripple), Journal of Animal Ecology, 2014
- Predation Risk, Elk, and Aspen: Comment, (Beschta, Eisenberg, Laundre, Ripple and Rooney), 2014
- Status and Ecological Effects of the World's Largest Carnivores, (Ripple, Estes, Beschta, Wilmers, Ritchie, Hebblewhite, Berger, Elmhagen, Letnic, Nelson, Schmitz, Smith, Wallach, Wirsing), Jan. 2014
- Trophic Cascades in a Multicausal World: Isle Royale and Yellowstone, (Peterson, Vucetich, Bump, and Smith) Jan. 2014
- Restoration of Riparian Areas Following the Removal of Cattle in the Northwestern Great Basin, (Batchelor, Ripple, Wilson, Painter) Dec. 2014
- Wolf, elk, and aspen food web relationships: Context and complexity, (Eisenberg, Seager and Hibbs) 2013
- Ecosystem restoration with teeth: what role for predators?, (Ritchie, Elmhagen, Glen, Letnic, Ludwig, and McDonald) Jan. 2012
- The role of predation in disease control: A comparison of selective and nonselective removal on prion disease dynamics in deer, Wild, Hobbs, Graham, Miller, 2011
- Wolf family values - The exquisitely balanced social life of the wolf has implications far beyond the pack, (New Scientist), 2010
- The Landscape of Fear: Ecological Implications of Being Afraid, (Laundre, Hernandez, Ripple, 2010)
- A Model Analysis of Effects of Wolf Predation on Prevalence of Chronic Wasting Disease in Elk Populations of Rocky Mountain National Park, (Hobbs), 2006
MANAGEMENT/POLITICS:
- Why the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is Problematic for Modern Wildlife Management, (M. Nils Peterson & Michael Paul Nelson), Human Dimensions of Wildlife 2016
- Predator control should not be a shot in the dark, (Treves et al), The Ecological Society of America 2016
- Questionable policy for large carnivore hunting, (Creel et al.), 2015
- When shooting a coyote kills a wolf: Mistaken identity or misguided management?, (Newsome, Bruskotter, and Ripple), 2015
- Congress’s attacks on science-based rules, (Rosenberg et al), 2015
- Challenge the abuse of science setting in policy, (Rosenberg et al), 2015
- Gray Wolf Conservation at a Crossroads, (Treves, Bruskotter), 2011
COEXISTANCE:
- Why do wolves eat livestock? - Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy, (Imbert et al), Biological Conservation 2016
PUBLIC TRUST:
- Informed opinion: Conserving the future is a matter of public trust (Treves) 2016
- in press. Predators and the public trust (Treves et al) 2014
- The Public Trust Doctrine - Implications for Wildlife Management and Conservation in the United States and Canada, (Batcheller et al), Technical Review 2010
PUBLIC TRUST WEBINARS
HUMAN TOLERANCE:
- Blood does not buy goodwill: allowing culling increases poaching of a large carnivore, (Chapron, Treves), 2016
- Changes in attitudes toward wolves before and after an inaugural public hunting and trapping season: early evidence from Wisconsin’s wolf range, (Hogberg, Treves, Shaw, Naughton-Trevea), 2015
- Pendulum Swings in Wolf Management Led to Conflict, Illegal Kills, and a Legislated Wolf Hunt, (Olsen et al), 2014
- Tolerance for Predatory Wildlife, (Treves, Bruskotter), 2014