RWSSP of the month--Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

The Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) is the foundation of the Red Wolf Recovery Program. To let people know what’s happening throughout the program through, we are continuing to feature different RWSSP locations on the blog.  The RWSSP of the March is Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) in northeastern North Carolina.  The 154,000-acre refuge is located on the mainland portions of Dare and Hyde Counties, North Carolina. The offices for refuge staff, as well as members of the Red Wolf Recovery Program, are located in the Coastal NC National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center.

Photo by R. Nordsven/USFWS

Aerial view of ARNWR. Photo by Melissa McGaw.

In March 1984, a large parcel of land in Dare County was set aside to become the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. ARNWR is well recognized as the location of the initial restoration efforts for the Red Wolf Recovery Program.  In 1987—just three years after the refuge was established—four breeding pairs of red wolves were released onto the refuge.  As a sign of early success in the program, the first wild pups were born the following spring.  Additional releases (facilitated by successful captive breeding efforts), intensive monitoring, and the establishment of partnerships in the local community has allowed the restored population of red wolves to expand west from ARNWR to include approximately 110 wolves occurring over more than 6000 km² in the Red Wolf Recovery Area. The collaboration between ARNWR and the Red Wolf Recovery Program has served as a model for restoration of other controversial endangered carnivores including gray wolves, African wild dogs, and black-footed ferrets.  

Release of a red wolf on ARNWR. Photo by R. Nordsven/USFWS.

In addition to the wild red wolves on the refuge, there is also a RWSSP facility on the ARNWR.  This RWSSP site currently has four full-time captive residents: one breeding pair, and two adult females.  The three females arrived from Virginia Living Museum (Newport News, VA) in 2007 (one born in 2006, and two sisters born in 2007).  The breeding male was born at Henson Robinson Zoo (Springfield, IL) in 2007 and transferred from North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro, NC) in 2010. The breeding pair had their first litter of pups in 2013 (one of which was fostered into the wild). We’re hoping for more pups this year—stay tuned!

Happy 30th Birthday to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge! Please visit their website or Facebook page for more information!

Red Wolf Species Survival Plan

What is a Species Survival Plan (SSP?). The American SSP program was developed in 1981 by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The mission of an AZA SSP Program is to cooperatively manage specific, and typically threatened or endangered, species population within AZA-accredited Zoos and Aquariums, and other AZA conservation partners including Certified Related Facilities, and Approved Non-Member Participants.

SSP programs focus on animals that are in danger of extinction in the wild, these captive breeding programs may be their only chance to survive; these programs also help maintain healthy and genetically diverse animal populations within the zoo community. SSP programs significantly contribute to field conservation efforts, species recovery, veterinary care for wildlife disease issues, and establishment of assurance populations. There are currently more than 300 SSP Programs, each managed by their corresponding Taxon Advisory Groups, within AZA. For each species, a comprehensive population Studbook and a Breeding and Transfer Plan are developed which identifies population management goals and recommendations to ensure the sustainability of a healthy, genetically diverse, and demographically varied AZA population.

Red Wolves were nearing extinction in the wild when the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington established a captive-breeding program in association with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The Point Defiance Zoo developed husbandry techniques, recruited four additional cooperating institutions to house wolves in the captive program and received AZA approval for a Red Wolf SSP program in 1984. By 1984, the captive population numbered 63 individuals and was growing, largely through the coordinated efforts of the Point Defiance Zoo and Red Wolf SSP cooperators.  These efforts made the release of red wolves into the first reintroduction site at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in 1987 possible.  Today, there are 43 SSP facilities participating in the Red Wolf SSP program (use this link for map and websites of all SSP cooperators), with ~190 red wolves.  The Red Wolf SSP is the foundation of the recovery program. Without its collective expertise and resources, the future of the red wolf would be uncertain. The contributions of the RWSSP include: (1) managing populations, (2) training field personnel on techniques for proper capture and restraint, (3) applying captive research to the field and (4) reintroducing captive born red wolves.

 Red wolf SSP locations. 

Successful conservation programs are often developed through partnerships. The Red Wolf Recovery Program is a great example of organizations working together to benefit a species. Zoos can play a significant role in red wolf recovery by informing visitors about the value of wolves in ecosystems and inspiring the public to support the wolf's reestablishment in the wild.  We encourage you to check out the websites of the Red Wolf SSP program participants.  There are a lot of photos, videos, and educational resources available on red wolves! Most of them also have Facebook pages, blogs, Twitter, and You Tube accounts as well.

Here’s just a few you can explore the resources of:

Chattanooga Nature Center (Chattanooga, TN)

Endangered Wolf Center (Eureka, MO)

Fort Worth Zoological Park (Fort Worth, TX)

Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens (Chicago, IL)

North Carolina Museum of Life & Science (Durham, NC)

Wildlife Science Center (Forest Lake, MN)

Wolf Conservation Center of New York  (South Salem, NY)

Red wolf cam video at Wolf Conservation Center of New York

2012: The 25th Anniversary of the Reintroduction of Red Wolves to North Carolina

Red wolves arrive at Manteo airport, 1987. Photo: USFWS.

With the close of 2012, we celebrated the 25^th anniversary of the reintroduction of red wolves into the northeastern North Carolina recovery area.  In the fall of 1987, eight wolves were released in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas. Over the years, we have faced many challenges, but the red wolf has continued to survive amidst changing habitats, policies, and management.  Today, the Red Wolf Recovery Program is still working towards recovery goals through conservation management, outreach, and education.  We’ve made a lot of progress—with an estimated 100-120 individuals established in the wild, and another 192 wolves in >40 captive breeding facilities participating in the Species Survival Plan program.  However, many factors, including human-caused mortality, continue to threaten the long-term success of the species.  Our overall recovery goals are the following:

1. Establish and maintain at least three red wolf populations via restoration projects within the historic range of the red wolf.   Each population should be numerically large enough to have the potential for allowing natural evolutionary processes to work within the species.   This must be paralleled by the cooperation and assistance of at least 30 captive-breeding facilities in the United States. 
2. Preserve 80% to 90% of red wolf genetic diversity for 150 years.
3. Remove threats of extinction by achieving a wild population of approximately 220 wolves and a captive population of approximately 330 wolves.

There still is a lot of work to do be done to achieve these goals.  We’re grateful for your continued support of red wolf conservation and recovery!!