Editing Red wolf (section)

== Range and habitat ==
[[File:Canis rufus historic distribution (Young and Goldman, 1944).png|left|thumb|Historical distribution of ''Canis rufus'' subspecies<ref name="goldman1944" />]]
[[File:Mapa distribución lobo rojo (canis rufus).png|right|thumb|Historical range of the red wolf]]
The originally recognized red wolf range extended throughout the [[southeastern United States]] from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, north to the Ohio River Valley and central Pennsylvania, and west to [[Central Texas]] and southeastern Missouri.<ref name="ref18">{{cite web |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |year=1997 |title=Endangered Red Wolves |url=http://library.fws.gov/Pubs4/endangered_red_wolves.pdf |page=7}}</ref> Research into paleontological, archaeological and historical specimens of red wolves by Ronald Nowak expanded their known range to include land south of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada, along the eastern seaboard, and west to Missouri and mid-Illinois, terminating in the southern latitudes of Central Texas.<ref name=nowak2002 />

Given their wide historical distribution, red wolves probably used a large suite of habitat types at one time. The last naturally occurring population used coastal prairie marshes, swamps, and agricultural fields used to grow rice and cotton. However, this environment probably does not typify preferred red wolf habitat. Some evidence shows the species was found in highest numbers in the once extensive bottom-land river forests and swamps of the southeastern United States. Red wolves reintroduced into northeastern North Carolina have used habitat types ranging from agricultural lands to forest/wetland mosaics characterized by an overstory of pine and an understory of evergreen shrubs. This suggests that red wolves are habitat generalists and can thrive in most settings where prey populations are adequate and persecution by humans is slight.<ref name=phillips2003/>

=== Extirpation in the wild ===
[[File:The fur animals of Louisiana (1931) Louisiana black wolf.png|thumb|Melanistic red wolf at [[Audubon Park, New Orleans]] (1931).]]
In 1940, the biologist [[Stanley Paul Young|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. He did not believe that they could be exterminated because of their habit of living concealed in thickets.<ref name=young1940/> In 1962 a study of skull morphology of wild ''Canis'' in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas indicated that the red wolf existed in only a few populations due to hybridization with the coyote. The explanation was that either the red wolf could not adapt to changes to its environment due to human land-use along with its accompanying influx of competing coyotes from the west, or that the red wolf was being hybridized out of existence by the coyote.<ref name=mccarley1962/>

===Reintroduced habitat===
Since 1987, red wolves have been released into northeastern North Carolina, where they roam 1.7&nbsp;million acres.<ref name="ref22">{{cite web |title=Current Red Wolf Facts |website=Red Wolf Recovery |url=http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/index.html |access-date=5 July 2011 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115202902/http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> These lands span five counties (Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, Washington, and Beaufort) and include three national wildlife refuges, a U.S. Air Force bombing range, and private land.<ref name="ref22" /> The red wolf recovery program is unique for a large carnivore reintroduction in that more than half of the land used for reintroduction lies on private property. Approximately {{convert|680000|acre|km2}} are federal and state lands, and {{convert|1002000|acre|km2}} are private lands.

Beginning in 1991, red wolves were also released into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee.<ref name="ref19">{{cite web |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |year=1997 |title=Endangered Red Wolves |url=http://library.fws.gov/Pubs4/endangered_red_wolves.pdf |pages=8–9}}</ref> However, due to exposure to environmental disease (parvovirus), parasites, and competition (with coyotes as well as intraspecific aggression), the red wolf was unable to successfully establish a wild population in the park. Low prey density was also a problem, forcing the wolves to leave the park boundaries in pursuit of food in lower elevations. In 1998, the FWS took away the remaining red wolves in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, relocating them to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/mammals.htm |access-date=2014-08-06 |title=Mammals}}</ref> Other red wolves have been released on the coastal islands in Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina as part of the captive breeding management plan. [[St. Vincent Island, Florida|St. Vincent Island]] in Florida is currently the only active island propagation site.