Born in New York, Deven has been released into the wild in eastern North Carolina. “The Wolf Conservation Center is thrilled that red wolf Deven s a part of this vital recovery mission,” said Maggie Howell, executive director of the center. “Deven is now a living, breathing part of the southeastern landscape, and his story will help inspire children and adults alike to care about red wolves and support the active efforts to save them.” (Photo: Wolf Conservation Center)
They’ve waited their whole lives for this moment.
Four adult red wolves were released into a wildlife refuge in eastern North Carolina, and four red wolf pups were fostered to a female in hopes of rebuilding the world’s only wild population of the endangered species. Before the release, there were seven red wolves living in the wild, down from 130 in 2005-06.
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A red wolf. Photo: Sam Bland
RALEIGH Hanging on by a Darwinian thread in northeastern North Carolina, the world’s only known wild red wolves may soon get a population boost, with a federal judge ruling late last week that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must again release captive-bred red wolves into the management area.
With only seven collared and about a dozen or so untagged wild red wolves remaining in the management area, 1.7 million acres of public and private land in Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Judge Terrence Boyle sided with conservation groups, ruling that the agency was “likely” in violation of the Endangered Species Act and must take immediate actions to save the species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must develop a plan by March 1 to introduce captive red wolves into the officially designated Red Wolf Recovery Area in North Carolina, a federal court ruled last Friday. The release of captive red wolves, raised in zoos and sanctuaries, is one of the last measures to keep the wild population from going extinct.
In his order, U.S. District Court Judge Terence Boyle did not mandate a particular number of wolves to be released or a timeline for the release, only that the agency develop its plan by the deadline.
The Southern Environmental Law Center had sued USFWS on behalf of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Welfare Institute. The plaintiffs had argued that in failing to release the captive wolves, as it had for decades, the agency was violating the Endangered Species Act.