Everyone knows that N.C. State’s mascot is the wolf. But what type of wolf is it? With its history tied to North Carolina, it could very well be the red wolf.

The last few years have seen the red wolf population begin to increase, with predictions that it will continue to do so.

According to the Red Wolf Recovery Project, “the red wolf used to be a predator in the southeastern United States.”

There are 40 captive facilities in the U.S. within North Carolina. Red wolves are found in the northeastern part of the state, mostly in Dare, Tyrell, Hyde, Beaufort and Washington counties.

According to the Red Wolf Recovery Project, “it is the world’s only wild population of red wolves.”

Part of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services, the Red Wolf Recovery program is responsible for monitoring and managing the red wolf wild population in northeastern North Carolina. This includes tracking numbers via aerial and ground methods, pup counts, dealing with mortality and disease issues and coyote interaction.

Diane Hendry, outreach coordinator for the Red Wolf Recovery program, said three to five pups is considered to be a normal litter. 41 pups were born in 2009.

“As the population would continue to increase, it would probably follow that pups would increase as well,” Hendry said.

She noted that although this has predominantly been the case, there were only 31 pups born in 2007.

In order to keep a handle on the pups, they are tracked beginning when they are young. Each one is outfitted with a radio collar, each getting a different identifying frequency.

As they transmit G.P.S. coordinates, the pups are then tracked via the dual methods of aerial and grand telemetry.

“Twice a week, members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fly over territory, either to look for a particular animal or to see where the population is moving,” Kim Wheeler, executive director of the Red Wolf Coalition, said.

The wolves are also tracked on the ground using hand-held antennas. 

“The wolves are tracked to see if they stay or move out of the recovery area, keeping up with the females and locating dens and pups,” Wheeler said.

The newer satellite collars are expensive and advanced, offering more extensive range distribution data than the traditional VHS collars. With the satellite collars, it is possible to go back and review a specific wolf’s movements over a given period of time.

Another goal is to keep hybridization from occurring between red wolves and coyotes, in order to keep the red wolf population pure.

According to Wheeler, red wolf packs do this on their own, but it can become a problem when red wolves are killed and coyotes invade camp looking for a mate.

The increase in population has many implications for both now and in the future.

In the short-term, there are more red wolves to keep track of. This would lead to greater potential for more breeding pairs, possible displacement of coyotes and expansion of the red wolf population.

“Biologists hope that 50 percent of pups survive each year to displace those lost to age,” Hendry said.

The life span of a red wolf is generally seven to eight years. In captivity, they can live up to 15 years.