Red wolf-like animals still in Texas?
Posted by: Chester Moore on October 22nd, 2015
Canis rufus, the red wolf, is the wolf species indigenous to the Southern United States. Once found from Central Texas to the eastern seaboard and up through the Smoky Mountains these beautiful canids according to science hybridized with coyotes and create a genetic mutt so to speak.
Because of this they were the first large mammal listed as a federally endangered species and were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. Recent research however suggests the red wolf might have been a fertile hybrid all along and even more interesting is the continued sightings of red wolf-like animals in their former range.
Here is an interesting example from history-a photo I saved from 1986 from the Orange Leader newspaper when I was a 12-year-old intrigued by these mysterious animals. This was taken a full six years after the extinct declaration.
Over the next couple of months I will unveil new and historic research my Kingdom Zoo team has conducted on the issue of mysterious canids in the Ark/La/TX region. The term being used for these animals now is “coy wolf” and that certainly has some merit but there may be more to the story.
We’ll get to that in coming entries here at Cryptomundo.
Chester Moore, Jr.
About Chester Moore
Chester Moore is Editor-In-Chief of Texas Fish & Game magazine. He has won more than 100 awards for writing, photography and conservation and was named a “Hero of Conservation” by Field & Stream magazine. He has 12 published books including has published thousands of articles on wildlife since 1992 including many on the subject of mysterious animals. Chester has appeared on The 700 Club, Animal Planet, The Outdoors Channel, National Geographic and NBC Sports. He is host of “Moore Outdoors” on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI where he has broadcasted for 16 years. He and his wife Lisa founded Children's Kingdom Ministries and operate the Kingdom Zoo: Wildlife Center in Pinehurst, TX in the Orange area.
I have seen at least one photo taken in TX very recently that could be nothing other than red wolf.
(I have seen a red-phase jaguarundi in OK. Different topic.)
My personal theory: the animals easy to hunt get killed off. The ones that evade that wave may get a reprieve when the hunting gets so difficult that even the best run out of luck. I think the eastern cougar has benefitted from survivors that learned to avoid hunters; the red wolf may be a similar story.
Wolves in Texas? This is my shocked face: :0