The Red Wolf

My Experience at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

The Red Wolf in Eastern North Carolina is a non-essential experimental population (NEP) managed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The number of these wolves in the program has fallen from more than 100 in the early 2000s to just 11 monitored with collars today. Another eight could be roaming the territory without collars. Two are believed to be in the Pocosin NWR, and a breeding pair is also located in the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge in Florida and had a litter in 2019.  There are also approximately 245 red wolves that are maintained in 43 captive breeding facilities throughout the United States. 

I was visiting the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in late July of 2020. As I slowly drove down the wildlife road hoping to photograph bears, I noticed an out of place color down one of the soybean rows. At first thinking it was a piece of trash, I still decided to back up and have a look with the 600mm lens. I still could not make it out until I clicked off a pic and zoomed in on the monitor. A lesson learned – never take anything for granted.

It was lucky timing for this sighting. It was a Thursday evening, normally very busy with tourists hoping to catch sight of bears. But this experience was not interrupted by any tourist traffic which could have sent the wolf scurrying for cover. I hid behind the truck and aimed the camera over the roof.  The wolf was working the row hunting as it went along and coming down the row towards me, getting closer and closer. The light was great, and I was able to get these images of a species that was declared extinct in the wild in 1980.

— Thanks for the Look —

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