Red Wolf Wildlife Crossing Fund

September marked the 37th anniversary of the red wolves’ return to the wild. On September 14, 1987, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a pair of male an female red wolves into the wild at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina.

But today only 16 red wolves remain in the wild. But there is hope. Four litters of red wolf pups were born in the wild in 2025—the most successful breeding season of the past decade. The Center protected red wolves and their pups through on-the-ground advocacy, litigation, and collaboration with Tribal partners, and we secured funds and support for one of the country’s largest wildlife crossings, which is slated to break ground next year.

The Center for Biological Diversity is stepping up efforts to support red wolf protection and recovery. 

This month the Center is presenting oral arguments in our red wolf essentiality lawsuit, where we are challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to deny our petition to classify the last and only wild red wolf population as "essential."

We argue that the last 16 red wolves in the wild are absolutely essential to their species' survival, and they deserve the additional protections that an 'essential' designation provides. Because North Carolina’s red wolf experimental population is the only wild population of the species, its loss would eliminate the species from the wild. 

Links:

• Save Red Wolves