Endangered wolf matriarch known for ‘prowess’ dies in North Carolina. ‘Will be missed’
An endangered red wolf known for showing her “prowess” in the North Carolina wilderness has died.
The wolf was a matriarch that reared 14 pups and “ensured the longevity” of her pack later in life, according to the Red Wolf Recovery Program.
“Her role in helping to keep the species alive in the wild will not be forgotten,” officials wrote April 7 in a Facebook post.
The matriarch — known to wildlife officials as 1849F — roamed the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge near the coast for more than a decade. She was 12 years old when she died of natural causes in March.
“Her prowess for catching rodents in the fields, despite having little to no teeth the last few years, will be missed,” wildlife officials wrote.
Over more than a decade, the mother wolf gave birth to three litters of pups and became the matriarch of her family.
“She would have likely had more litters in her almost 13 years of life in the wild, which is impressive in and of itself, but sadly her mate for life died several years ago,” the Red Wolf Recovery Program wrote.
Then in 2020, the matriarch continued to play a key role in the survival of her species when a new male wolf was brought in from the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. She “accepted him into the area,” carving the path for him to mate with her daughter.
“Her daughter gave birth to pups of her own last spring and could potentially welcome more this year; may they be as intelligent and resilient as their grandmother,” the Wolf Conservation Center, a New York-based nonprofit, wrote on Facebook after the news of 1849F’s death.
Red wolves — considered the most endangered wolf species on Earth — once roamed much of the Eastern and Southern United States. But habitat changes and “intensive predator control programs” in the early 1900s led to significant declines in population, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The wolves were reintroduced to Eastern North Carolina in 1987, and at least 120 were living in the wild by 2012. Despite their endangered status, some have been shot, hit by cars or impacted by habitat loss, The News & Observer reported.
As of April, officials estimate there are 17 to 19 wild red wolves in North Carolina. Another 235 live in captivity in an effort to help continue the species, the Red Wolf Recovery Program wrote on its website.
The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is on the Albemarle Peninsula, roughly 25 miles southwest of the popular Outer Banks barrier island town of Nags Head.
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