Editing Red wolf (section)

==History==
Red wolves were once 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]],  southern [[New York (state)|New York]], and extreme southern [[Ontario]] in [[Canada]]<ref name=IUCN/> south to the [[Gulf of Mexico]].<ref name=Hinton2013>{{cite journal |first1=Joseph W. |last1=Hinton |first2=Michael J. |last2=Chamberlain |first3=David R. Jr. |last3=Rabon |date=August 2013 |title=Red Wolf (''Canis rufus'') Recovery: A review with suggestions for future research |journal=Animals |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=722–724 |doi=10.3390/ani3030722 |pmc=4494459 |pmid=26479530|doi-access=free }}</ref> The red wolf was nearly driven to extinction by the mid-1900s due to aggressive predator-control programs, [[habitat destruction]], and extensive [[Coywolf|hybridization with coyotes]]. By the late 1960s, it occurred in small numbers in the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] of western [[Louisiana]] and eastern [[Texas]].

Fourteen of these survivors were selected to be the founders of a captive-bred population, which was established in the [[Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium]] between 1974 and 1980. After a successful experimental relocation to Bulls Island off the coast of [[South Carolina]] in 1978, the red wolf was declared [[extinct in the wild]] in 1980 so that restoration efforts could proceed. In 1987, the captive animals were released into the [[Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge]] (ARNWR) on the [[Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula|Albemarle Peninsula]] in [[North Carolina]], with a second unsuccessful release taking place two years later in the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]].<ref name="hendry">{{Cite journal |last=Hendry |first=D. |year=2007 |title=Red Wolf Restoration: A 20&nbsp;year journey |url=https://wolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/winter2007.pdf |journal=International Wolf Center |volume=17 |page=4}}</ref> Of 63&nbsp;red wolves released from 1987 to 1994,<ref name=Gese /> the population rose to as many as 100–120&nbsp;individuals in 2012, but due to the lack of regulation enforcement by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|US Fish and Wildlife Service]], the population has declined to 40&nbsp;individuals in 2018,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/government-wild-red-wolf-population-could-soon-be-wiped-out/ar-AAwhTsC?ocid=ACERDHP15 |title=Government: Wild red wolf population could soon be wiped out |website=www.msn.com |language=en-US |access-date=2018-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425183138/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/government-wild-red-wolf-population-could-soon-be-wiped-out/ar-AAwhTsC?ocid=ACERDHP15 |archive-date=2018-04-25 |url-status=dead}}</ref> about 14 in 2019 <ref name=press-releases-2019-10-29>{{cite press release |url=https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/report-20000-square-miles-red-wolf-habitat-open-urgently-needed-reintroductions-2019-10-29/ |title=Report: 20,000 Square Miles of Red Wolf Habitat is Open for Urgently Needed Reintroductions |publisher=Center for Biological Diversity |language=en |access-date=2019-11-02 |date=2019-10-29}}</ref> and 8 as of October 2021.<ref name="Wolf Conservation Center"/> No wild litters were born between 2019 and 2020.<ref name="Wolf Conservation Center">{{Cite web |title=Red Wolf |date=10 December 2018 |publisher=Wolf Conservation Center |url=https://nywolf.org/learn/red-wolf/ |access-date=2023-03-12}}</ref>

Under pressure from conservation groups, the US Fish and Wildlife Service resumed reintroductions in 2021 and increased protection. In 2022, the first wild litter was born since 2018. As of 2023, there are between 15 and 17 wild red wolves in ARNWR.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Red Wolf Recovery Program {{!}} U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |website=FWS.gov |date=4 April 2022 |language=en |url=https://www.fws.gov/project/red-wolf-recovery-program |access-date=2023-03-12}}</ref>