Only 20 Red Wolves Exist in Wild. A New Plan May Help

Hunters were once the greatest human threat to the country's only unique wolf species. Today, it's motorists. That fact was brought home last June, when red wolf breeding male No. 2444 was struck and killed on US 64 near Manns Harbor, North Carolina. His death likely meant five pups he'd been providing for died, too. For decades, conservationists have pushed for changes to the busy two-lane highway, which runs through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge—one of just two places on Earth where red wolves run free. They may finally be getting their wish, per the AP.

• A new option: In late December, the Federal Highway Administration awarded the first grants under a new $125 million Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. Unless the grants are undone by President Trump, part of the money will help state agencies and nonprofits rebuild a 2.5-mile section of the highway with fencing and culverts, or small underpasses, to allow red wolves—as well as black bears, white-tailed deer, and other animals—to pass safely underneath traffic.

• Wolf's history: Canis rufus, aka "America's wolf," once roamed from central Texas to southern Iowa, and as far east as Long Island, New York. After being declared extinct in the wild, red wolves were reintroduced in North Carolina in 1987. For about 20 years, the population grew steadily, to reach around 120 animals. Then their numbers crashed—with vehicle collisions a primary culprit. There are now thought to be fewer than 20 red wolves in the wild. Besides Alligator River, the other remaining habitat is in the nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
• Crossings grow: One congressional report estimated that dangerous highway collisions with large animals kill hundreds of people and cost more than $8 billion annually. In North Carolina, US Fish and Wildlife biologists have tried other measures to prevent crashes—like flashing road signs and reflective collars—without much success. Wildlife crossings have proliferated across the US in the past 20 years, with broad nonpartisan support.
• Not a sure thing: While it's not certain the $31.5 million Red Wolf Essential Survival Crossings Under Evacuation Route, or RESCUER, project can save the last red wolves, scientists say doing nothing will almost certainly hasten their demise. Marcel P. Huijser, a research ecologist at Montana State University's Western Transportation Institute, warned the cost of doing nothing, "including losing a wild species, can be far higher than the cost of implementing effective mitigation."

(More red wolf stories.)