WHEREAS, through a combination of predator control, habitat disturbance, encroaching human populations, and finally, hybridization with the coyote (Canis latrans), the red wolf, Canis rufus, was periously close to extinction by the early 1970's; and,
WHEREAS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opted for captive propagation as the best means of ensuring the species' survival; and,
WHEREAS, reintroduction of an endangered predator into the wild is always difficult because of animal behavior and human concerns; and,
WHEREAS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, following the Red Wolf Recovery Plan, has taken critical steps to reintroduce four mated pairs of red wolves into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare County, North Carolina, and is investigating other potential reintroduction sites elsewhere within the species' original geographic range,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the American Society of Mammalogists commends the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's actions, particularly those of project leader Warren Parker, in this important historical effort to reintroduce the red wolf into the southeastern U.S.