A Week to Remember for the Red Wolf

By: Eric Trefney

September 18, 2025

1987, a year of many historic milestones. The last of 27 wild California condors was captured to create a captive breeding program, Ronald Regan delivered his famous “Tear Down This Wall” speech, the world’s first laptop released by IBM was only a year into its infancy, and The Tracey Ullman Show premiered The Simpsons (still a personal favorite). Another major milestone in 1987, one that is often overlooked by the aging eyes of history: The reintroduction of Red Wolves on the Albemarle Peninsula in Eastern North Carolina.

One calm, gray morning on September 14, 1987, quiet history was made. Four pairs of Red Wolves, eight individuals in total, were released from their acclimation pens within Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf recovery team. There was no fanfare, no media buzz, no crowds cheering on the secretive animals. The Red Wolf team simply walked up to the pen doors where the wolves had been housed for six months, unlatched the chains to the entrance, and let the curious wolves decide on their own when they would leave. It would take several days for this ancient species to step out of their man-made structures and back into the wilds of their historic territory.

Since the first reintroduction 38 years ago, the population of wild Red Wolves in North Carolina has ebbed and flowed, with peaks and valleys. From nearly 120 wolves in the early 2000s to around 30 today. Wolves are facing the same problems they have historically encountered after Europeans breached the shores of this continent – shootings, trappings, poisonings, and, now, car strikes. Still, the Red Wolf perseveres.

With 18 Red Wolf pups born this spring, a ray of hope can be seen on the distant horizon. The first wildlife crossings are slated to be constructed in 2026 in an attempt to end the maddening and senseless vehicle killings of wolves. More and more people are aware of these magnificent animals, as can be seen by the ever-growing crowds at Alligator River. Even politicians are starting to advocate for the species. Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) and Congressman Gerg Murphy (NC-03) have introduced a bipartisan resolution that supports the continued expansion of the Red Wolf population as well as backing for wildlife crossings in Red Wolf territory.

We must do everything we can to bring awareness and advocate for the Red Wolf’s story, especially this week, in honor of those eight pioneering individuals who laid their paws down on the peaty ground of Alligator River for the first time.

As we celebrate the 38th year of the reintroduction of Red Wolves to their home, we must not be complacent in the continued recovery efforts. We, the hundreds of thousands of conservationists, photographers, and wildlife enthusiasts, must share the Red Wolf’s story with anyone and everyone. We all must be unified and focused on the long-term – even with our differing views on what conservation and rewilding entails – which is the full recovery of the wild Red Wolf population in its historic range. We must keep our eyes trained forward so that one day, in the not-so-distant future, we might hear the howl of a single Red Wolf over the swampy, wooded terrain not go unanswered but be echoed back by another.

The USFWS will host a virtual informational meeting to update the public on the Red Wolf Recovery Program on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025, at 6:00 PM EST. You can register here.

Happy Red Wolf Awareness Week!