Red wolves were originally distributed throughout the southeastern and south-central United States from the Atlantic Ocean to central Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Illinois in the west, and in the north from the Ohio River Valley, northern Pennsylvania and southern New York south to the Gulf of Mexico. A study of Canis morphometrics conducted in eastern North Carolina reported that red wolves are morphometrically distinct from coyotes and hybrids. Its cerebellum is unlike that of other Canis species, being closer in form to that of canids of the Vulpes and Urocyon genera, thus indicating that the red wolf is one of the more plesiomorphic members of its genus.
[44] This conclusion led to debate for the remainder of the decade. Other threats, such as habitat fragmentation, disease, and human-caused mortality, are of concern in the restoration of red wolves.
No gray wolf sequences were detected in the samples. Red wolves grow up to 26 inches tall, and adults measure about four feet in length from tail tip to nose. Historical accounts of wolves in the southeast by early explorers such as William Hilton, who sailed along the Cape Fear River in what is now North Carolina in 1644, also note that they ate deer. Red wolves once ranged throughout the entire Southeast, as far north as New York, northwest to Missouri, and down to mid-Texas. [13] Of 63 red wolves released from 1987–1994[clarification needed],[14] the population rose to as many as 100–120 individuals in 2012, but due to the lack of regulation enforcement by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the population has declined to 40 individuals in 2018[15] and about 14 as of 2019. [68] Another study in late 2018 of wild canids in southwestern Louisiana also supported the red wolf as a separate species, citing distinct red wolf DNA within hybrid canids. The distribution of the wolf population is primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. [69], High wolf mortality related to anthropogenic causes appeared to be the main factor limiting wolf dispersal westward from the RWEPA. [87], In 1940 the biologist Stanley P. Young noted that the red wolf was still common in eastern Texas, where more than 800 had been caught in 1939 because of their attacks on livestock. The study suggests that this allele survives in the red wolf. A re-examination of museum canine skulls collected from central Texas between 1915-1918 showed variations spanning from C. rufus through to C. latrans. Wolves have always had conflict with humans. The adult pack members will range and return with food for the pups until they are strong enough.