Red wolves are critically endangered.

By 1980 the species was listed as ‘Extinct in the Wild’ but in1987 was reintroduced by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) into eastern North Carolina.

The total population within the reintroduced area is less than 150 (of which no more than 50 are mature individuals).

Red wolf/coyote hybrids are the primary threat to the species’ survival in the wild.