DNA of wolf extinct in wild found in Texas pack
Analysis shows hybrid of red wolf and coyote
DALLAS— Researchers say a pack of wild canines found frolicking near the beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast carries a substantial amount of red wolf genes, a surprising discovery because the animal was declared extinct in the wild nearly 40 years ago.
The finding has led wildlife biologists and others to develop a new understanding that the red wolf
DNA is remarkably resilient after decades of human hunting, loss of habitat and other factors had led the animal to near decimation.
“Overall, it’s incredibly rare to rediscover animals in a region where they were thought to be extinct, and it’s even more exciting to show that a piece of an endangered genome has been preserved in the wild,” said Elizabeth Heppenheimer, a Princeton University biologist involved in the research on the pack found on Galveston Island in Texas.
The genetic analysis found that the Galveston canines appear to be a hybrid of red wolf and coyote, but Heppenheimer cautions that without additional testing, it’s difficult to label the animal.
Ron Sutherland, a North Carolina-based conservation scientist with the Wildlands Network, said it’s exciting to have found “this unique and fascinating medium-sized wolf.”
The survival of the red wolf genes “without much help from us for the last 40 years is wonderful news,” Sutherland said.
The red wolf, which tops out at about 80 pounds, was once common across a vast region extending from Texas into the Southeast and up into the Northeast. It was federally classified as endangered in 1967 and declared extinct in the wild in 1980.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1970s captured a remnant population in Texas and Louisiana that eventually led to a successful captive breeding program. Those canines in 1986 became part of the experimental wild population in North Carolina. That group has been declining since 2006. A federal report in April said about 40 remained.
About 200 red wolves live in zoos and wildlife facilities as part of captive breeding programs.
Sutherland said the Galveston canines have effectively quashed a decades-old impression that red wolves were a feckless predator overwhelmed by the numerical superiority of coyotes. He adds that the Galveston group has DNA that can’t be found in the animal’s captive population.
“From a practical conservation biology standpoint, these animals have special DNA and they deserve to be protected,” he said, explaining that conservation easements that restrict development along parts of the Gulf Coast are an essential first step.
A spokesman for U.S. Fish and Wildlife said the agency is unable to comment during the partial government shutdown. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a statement that the Galveston discovery is “interesting,” but “we do not anticipate any regulatory changes or implications in Texas at this time.”
Kim Wheeler, executive director of the North Carolina-based Red Wolf Coalition, said further study of the Galveston pack is needed.
“We really need to let science do its due diligence to determine what this animal is,” she said, noting that red wolves can evoke strong feelings in people with livestock or who have other concerns with their predatory nature.