Research

The animals at the Wildlife Science Center (WSC) provide opportunities for study by scientists from many walks of life. High school and college students use them to learn observation techniques, and hone their understanding of scientific method. WSC staff assist students with the hypothesis, methods, and presentation of results.

The red wolf program currently maintains about 100 animals in the wild (80 are radio collared) and about 200 animals in 34 captive facilities. The original mainland release site, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, hosts a single large, widely dispersing population of red wolves with neighboring Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. The wild and captive operations of red wolf recovery have been working together for many years to better understand the red wolf’s biology, physiology, behavior, genetics and reproduction. Current research conducted at WSC will hopefully determine the effectiveness and feasibility of safe, reversible reproductive inhibitors that can be applicable for both captive and wild wolf populations. The slow, time released implant negates the necessity for invasive surgeries or separation of animals during breeding season. Also of concern is the effect of the implant on the behavior of the animal. Hormonal fluctuations are seasonal and normal and help mold the dynamic hierarchy within a wolf pack, thus providing the necessary impetus for determining the pack’s “fittest” male and female (i.e. alpha). If a hormonal implant adversely affects these specific hormone fluctuations (which in turn affect dominant behavior) then determination of a pack’s “fittest” animals for reproduction and leadership can be affected in a way that it would not normally have been. Along with practical research there are also physiological studies. Recent genetic studies indicate that the eastern timber wolf and the red wolf may actually be one and the same, only subspecies of one another. This news becomes more of a shock to the scientific community when it is also believed that this “eastern seaboard” wolf species evolved separately from the gray wolf. Further studies will continue to shed light on this subject as it will likely have legal ramifications for the protection of both red and gray wolves.