. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Natural Wonders of the Coast On a still night their howls pierce the air like arrows. Red wolves freely roam the 120,000 acres of the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland of Dare County. They can be found in only a handful of places in the world. But their future in North Carolina is hopeful. A native to North Carolina, the red wolf (Cams rufus) once freely roamed the Tar Heel coastal plain and the rest of the American Southeast. The red wolf is smaller than the gray wolf (Canis lupus)
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Natural Wonders of the Coast On a still night their howls pierce the air like arrows. Red wolves freely roam the 120,000 acres of the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland of Dare County. They can be found in only a handful of places in the world. But their future in North Carolina is hopeful. A native to North Carolina, the red wolf (Cams rufus) once freely roamed the Tar Heel coastal plain and the rest of the American Southeast. The red wolf is smaller than the gray wolf (Canis lupus) but larger than the common coyote (Canis latrans). It is a tall and lanky animal, and its fur has coloration ranging from cinnamon red to charcoal gray. The colorings and body type are ideally suited for hunting in Southeastern habitats. A creature of forests and bottomlands, the red wolf was eradicated from our state in the late 1930s. Humans were respon- sible for most of the red wolfs retreat. The government once offered bounties for their hides. And logging companies decimated their forest range. In the 1960s, there were few red wolves left in the United States. A small area of marshland in Louisiana and Texas had become their home. But these animals were sick, and some had mated with native coyotes, resulting in a hybrid breed. In 1986, new hope was born for this small wolf in North Carolina. Four pairs of wolves were taken from a captive breeding program in Tacoma, Washington and released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Later, others were released. They were fed by Fish and Wildlife Service biologists until they were able to fend for them- selves. Even the bottomlands of this remote wildlife refuge weren't enough to protect these wolves from the influence of humans. Two of the red wolves released into the refuge were killed by passing motorists. Nature took its toll also. Some wolves died of disease; others fell victim to accidents. But biologists
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
