Some ways you could help save Red Wolves is by donating to the Defenders of Wildlife. You could also spread the word about how to save Red Wolves and why it is important to save them(as said above). The Red Wolves need all the help they can get and I hope you help them too. Please visit this website if you want more ways to help Red Wolves.
One of the most serious threats to red wolves is interbreeding with their look-alike relative, the coyote. "All members of the Canine species, which includes wolves, coyotes, and domestic dogs, have a potential for interbreeding."(From Source 2) When red wolves were first restored in North Carolina, no coyotes were found there. But in the wake of habitat change and detruction and the extinction of wolves, both gray and red, across most of the United States, coyotes have been expanding out of their native habitats. When unable to find mates of their own kind, red wolves, which typically kill coyotes, will mate with them.
"To keep the Coyotes from interbreeding with Red Wolves, in North Carolina, FWS has a strategy that involves capturing coyotes, sterilizing them, and turning them loose. The animals establish territories and keep out rivals but cannot breed with each other or with wolves. If red wolves need a territory, they can take it from the smaller canines. This program, which presently involves about 60 coyotes, benefits the wolves as well as farmers who fear coyote predations because older coyotes with stable territories are less likely to prey on domestic animals than are younger newcomers and those with pups to feed," (From Source #2)
Another thing that could be affecting wolves is North Carolina’s coyote hunting season, which runs year-round without limit, day or night. Red wolves can be mistaken easily for trophy-size coyotes, which is why the Southern Environmental Law Center, is suing to stop the hunt in the red wolf recovery area. This could help the Red Wolves grow because they will not be shot because they were mistaken for Coyotes.
Red wolf deaths from gunshots has been rising in recent years. From 2002 through 2005, 17 red wolves were killed by gunshot. In 2012, 8 Red Wolves died from gunshots, and in 2013 nine. Somthings that may cause these deaths to gunshots could be large farms and hunters outside the local area who don’t know about the Red Wolf and mistake them for coyotes.
