RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — A conservation organization raised the reward for information concerning the May 18 illegal killing of one of the few red wolves left in the wild.
The Center for Biological Diversity announced Monday it would contribute an extra $10,000 to the $5,000 offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for information leading to a prosecution in the illegal killing. The killing reduced the number of known wolves living in the wild east of the Great Lakes to 13.
“We grieve the senseless killing of one of the most endangered mammals on the planet, and we want the perpetrator brought to justice,” said Will Harlan, Southeast director at the center. “This is a cowardly act against one of the only red wolves in the wild. We hope someone steps forward with information.”
The perpetrator shot the wolf alongside a road in Washington County near the Outer Banks surrounding the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, home to the world’s only remaining wild red wolf population. According to a recent necropsy, the wolf stumbled a few feet before dying after being shot in the torso.
The death of the captive-born male deals a hard blow to a fragile species that was deemed extinct in the wild in the 1980s. Designated as an endangered species in 1967, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released four pairs into the reserve in 1987.
The population steadily grew until its peak of 130 recorded wolves in 2006. Fish and Wildlife estimated that only 50 to 75 remained in 2015, now in the low teens but climbing.
Under the Endangered Species Act, intentional killings carry maximum penalties of $50,000 and a year in prison, while civil penalties can range up to $25,000 per violation. Due to the population being deemed nonessential and experimental, landowners do not face penalties for killing a red wolf if it attacks their livestock or pets. Residents that accidentally trap a red wolf by attempting legal activity like trapping coyotes also do not face punishment but must contact Fish and Wildlife.
First distinguished from its cousin the gray wolf in Florida in 1791, many used to believe that the species, once common on the East Coast before overhunting, was merely a hybrid of gray wolfs and coyotes. Gunshots remain the leading cause of death for wild red wolfs, and vehicle collisions have also contributed to the decline.
After the population fell to single digits, former President Donald Trump's Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would stop its efforts to help them recover in the wild in 2018. The center sued the administration in 2019 for failing to deliver on a pledge to prepare an updated recovery plan for the wolves by the end 0f 2018.
“It’s outrageous that the Trump administration is sitting on its hands while red wolves spiral toward extinction,” Collette Adkins, the center’s carnivore conservation director, said in 2019. “This is a desperate situation. Hopefully, this lawsuit will be the catalyst that finally gets the feds to do what’s needed to save red wolves.”
Between 2018 and 2021, the service stopped releasing captive red wolves, stopped investigating their deaths and ended the red wolf education program. The agency announced it would renew its commitment to overseeing a full population recovery in 2022 following extensive advocacy.
Five red wolfs were born in the wild in early 2023, and seven pups were released from captivity into the wild this year. The stoic red wolf is identified from its red fur and tends to weigh between 45 and 80 pounds, much less than the more common grey wolf, which can reach up to 170 pounds.
Anyone with information on the death of the red wolf is urged to contact North Carolina Division of Refuge Law Enforcement Patrol Captain Frank Simms at (252) 216-7504 or Special Agent Matthew Brink at (919) 856-4786 ext. 37.
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