I live in eastern north carolina near where they did the restoration program. One day I was driving down the highway back from alligator river and was lucky enough to see a red wolf standing on the side of the road. I thought it was coyote at first but as I got closer I realized it was almost as tall as my car. Even though it was for a split second I could just tell that was a lucky experience. Red wolves are one of North Carolinas biggest symbols, I mean it's literally states mascot (go heels though). I can't believe the people of NC have successfully petitioned to stop this and I hope we can do better to reintroduce this back sooner rather than when it's too late.
A wonder-filled sighting although you're exaggerating their size greatly! Remember what Cameron told us very accurately that they are larger than an average sized Coyote, however smaller than an average sized Grey 🐺 Wolf! Additionally, the historic photo shown of multiple Wolf pelts at 03:19 are of the now extinct ''Buffalo Wolf" subspecies of Grey Wolf 🐺 Wolf! They were probably the largest Grey Wolf subspecies in the world! 🌎 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🌎 🇺🇲 🐺 🦊 🐺 🇺🇸 🌎 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
@@jeffslote9671so long as the less than 300 are alive at all, and their historic wolf neighbors could help them genetically, along with necessary wildlife corridors, (like the Florida wildlife corridor project as well), I foresee a path to recovery with the red wolves. I am very happy beginning volunteer work at my local wolf conservation center.
I foresee that wildlife corridors, and the type of habitat and ecosystem restoration that is beginning to happen in Europe, (I recently learned about), with the re-introduction of European bison in certain areas is the beginning. For red wolf habitat, it will definitely include wildlife corridors across the south, training them to hunt the feral pigs, gearing up cattle ranchers with Texas Longhorns, and possibly Florida cracker cattle to do the circle herding defense, and possibly reintroducing, (where historically native), Manitoban elk like in the Smokies, and possibly Plains bison, as Europeans are beginning to demonstrate as explained. Those, and maybe sparse breeding with the great plains Wolf that has recovered in Minnesota and Wisconsin for genetic diversity. Could all be the keys to helping the red wolf recover. I’ve even heard that the North Carolina red wolves, sometimes hunt feral pigs, which suggest that they could become a resident predator for them besides committed pig hunting. It is all upon us to visit our local Wolf conservation centers to get educated, and to witness wolves for ourselves. They are very much the original wild dogs of the northern hemisphere.
Thank you so much for making this video! This really needs more awareness! I live in an area where Red Wolves historically roamed, and I hope so dearly that the children of tomorrow will get to grow up hearing the call of the Red Wolf in the forests once again. Wolves are our relatives, and they are essential. We, the settlers of this land, owe it to them to help them heal from the damage we caused.
Thanks for watching it, your support means a lot! Our landscape deserves wolves and I sincerely hope they can make a comeback with this latest round of reintroductions. This program works if we let it!
I love watching these videos but they make me so sad. You do such a great job covering the different impacts, it's a shame people don't fully understand what they're doing.
Haha, sorry about that! I try and balance happy and sad things lol. Unfortunately, when it comes to the environment, there is a LOT of bad things. I appreciate you sticking with it and supporting the channel and these stories!
Much appreciated, thanks for watching! I would also like to see different locations for red wolf reintroduction - hopefully the program can get back on its feet and realize some of those opportunities.
There are lots of people here in Europe who wouldn't mind it if every single wolf in Europe got shot. The fear that was instilled in people is real, even though wolves are the most gentle and social creatures you can imagine. Personally I feel that wolves are a sign of a healthy ecosystem, and their lack a clear sign that things are not okay. I have followed the Wolf Conservation Center for a while now, and have come to enjoy watching them play and interact with each other is so touching. The lazy howling to stay in contact at a distance is amazing to watch and listen to. It's also very sad to see US states allow wolves to be killed for sport. The whole thing about 'protecting livestock' is also such nonsense and more based on ignorance and the refusal to accept that wolves would rather hunt their natural prey than try to go after livestock. If we destroy an ecosystem and all prey animals in it, then sure, a wolf pack would have no other choice, but then that would be on us, wouldn't it?
You hit the nail on the head. Wolves are absolutely a sign of a healthy ecosystem and their treatment here in the states has been vicious and unwarranted for centuries. One of the reasons I wanted to make a video like this is to just put good info out there in the hopes that, in some small way, it helps correct the narrative. I appreciate your insight and thanks for watching and helping wolves!
They should try And release red wolves in Okefenokee south Georgia. It's a 440,000 acre refuge, not many coyotes although they are here. There's a ton of white tail deers. It's a very protected refuge
Live 45 minutes from the seewee center. It's an amazing place. The coastal refugees gateway center on Roanoke Island NC has some great education on the wolves too.
I grew up like 30 minutes from there, and even visited it once, but somehow never saw the red wolves. It's kind of embarrassing, but better late than never to find an extraordinary place like that!
@@hashashin1113 Interesting. I was there by myself for a while and they seemed to really open up at that point. The female was actually really curious and almost came up to the glass to check things out!
@National Park Diaries that's awesome. Maybe they are just less shy around single individuals or single men. I know "Wolfman Rob" was the primary caretaker and keeper of the animals. Hope he's still there and well. Did you get to meet him?
@@hashashin1113 Yes! He was still there! We had a long conversation about wolves and his passion was infectious. Real awesome dude, it was a pleasure meeting him
Great video! It's almost hard to believe how strong of an impact one loud minority can make, but it's good to know that these recovery programs have a chance to be successful again. Keep up the awesome work!
I've been wanting to tell this story for so long. I've been obsessed with it for a few years now, but had to wait until I could go down to the refuge and do it properly. Such an incredible experience.
It's stunning! Highly recommend a trip to Bulls Island if you're ever in the area! You'll get to see a part of the South Carolina coast that is sadly pretty rare these days.
The biggest issue with Wolf re-introduction in the Eastern USA is simply that the niche they evolved to fill mostly doesn't exist anymore. Large prey animals aren't common, habitats are segmented, and humans are everywhere. The Coyote didn't rise just because the wolf was gone, at least not here(There are spots where that was all to it like Yellowstone, and the Wolves re-established themselves quickly once given the chance), but because being smaller and handling humans better is simply a better strategy for surviving in the area in the current habitat situation. Coyotes are generally small enough they don't prompt immediate human freak outs, and they're skittish enough to avoid excessive encounters. But they're not so skittish humans being in the vicinity completely messes them up either. They have a bit of wolf and dog in them these days too, though the ratio varies heavily urban to suburban with good reason. (Urban ones tend to be smaller, live solo or in pairs, and eat mostly rabbits and rodents and other small animals plus scraps, and they're more comfortable near humans. Suburban ones are a bit larger, have bigger teeth, live in bigger groups, eat a lot more deer, and are a bit more skittish around people. They're evolving to fill the niche that's left over, a mid sized flexible predator can handle humans better than a larger one)
Awesome video bro. I thought I knew about red wolves already but you definitely taught me some things. Would love to see a similar video about the Florida panther as a Florida native and wildlife conservation student.
From what I understand, it wasn't as well implemented. They had a real problem with diseases and malnourishment and the wolves kept coming into lowland areas to hunt, bringing them into conflict with humans. Glad you like the episode though, thanks for watching!
I had a blast out there. Honestly, my favorite video I've made to date. It's what I'm envisioning as the future of the channel, so as it continues to grow, I want to do more stories this way. Thanks for watching!
Thank you! I hope you find some on your visit! I was hoping to make my way up to Alligator River myself for this story, but then I decided on Bull's Island. Best of luck!
Great video about a very interesting topic. As you might be able to guess from my username, wolves are my favorite animal so I welcome any video or topic bringing them up! I had never heard of a red wolf conservation and restoration before so I'll definitely have to look into it a bit more (especially that bit about Great Smoky Mountains!)
They're very special animals! I love doing stories on them as well and the story of the red wolf is as special as it gets for me living in the SE. The Smokies reintroduction could almost be a second video lol, but definitely worth reading up on!
Oh wow, so cool! I was fortunate enough to see the pair they had at Cape Romain NWR, which was incredible. I was there by myself at the end of the day, and the female came right up to the enclosure and we had an amazing moment. Such special animals.
You should do a video series on unique ecosystems of national parks like about a endemic species to the national park or the region that it's in like Olympic, death valley, channel islands, and mammoth cave
It’s so interesting to see the contrast between red wolves and Mexican gray wolves, another heavily managed and monitored population. Mexican wolves also face a lot of misleading press and livestock conflict. But in spite of that, the population is steadily growing and just hit 241 this year
Sad situation here in Pennsylvania. So many hunters are horribly prejudiced against any predator. The game commission has reintroduced Fishers and they are doing well. Now they want to reintroduce Pine Martins and there are complaints about that. But overall people are all for it, including me. The game commission is blamed for introducing coyotes in the state and even mountain lions. Both, totally incorrect, but they will be saying this 100 years from now.
It was my hope with this video, at least in some small part, to help correct the narrative on wolves. They've been so unfairly treated and deserve a spot on our landscape once again
Well done video! Enjoyed it very much. Back in the 1990s I was in Algonquin Provincial Park, driving during early morning. A wolf ran across in front of my car. No problem as I was driving slow. The though of hitting a moose will do that to you. Anyway…very distinct long legs but what surprised me was the red tinge to its coat. After seeing the wolf I slow to a stop, looked in the rear view mirror, and another passed in back of my car. Thrill of a lifetime. But what I really want to mention is that the park at the time mentioned in their literature that the genetics of their wolves matched Red Wolf. I doubt they will ever agree on the canid genetics. But I still wonder today if it is the same species as the critically genetic Red Wolves. These Algonquin Wolves fit the size of Red Wolves and definitely are smaller than Gray or Timber Wolves. But they looked big to me!
Thank you! And yes, I think you're right about that! I came across some research suggesting red wolf DNA up in Algonquin Provincial Park, so we'll see what happens with that!
@NationalParkDiaries Greetings, Cameron! 🙏 You both might be interested in the Algonquin Provincial Park oriented Wolf 🐺 information and photos that are included in a recently published partial biography of my father Dr Doug Pimlott. I've provided a link to that book on the Friends of Algonquin Park website below. I searched for a postal address for NPD online Cameron, so that I could mail a copy of that book [as well as a body of related (and current) publications about the very closely related Algonquin Wolf] to you. Perhaps I could also serve as a volunteer guide during your first visit to Algonquin Provincial Park in Central Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦 It would be my pleasure and honour! (Canadian spelling eh?) Cheers! Yours is my opinion, one of the best natural and human history of North America websites currently available on the Internet!! Thank you very much for all that you do for nature! It's what keeps us all alive! 🌎 🌎 🌎 🌎 🌏 www.algonquinpark.on.ca/news/2021/2021-09-16_newbook_douglas_pimlott.php 🐺 www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/douglas-humphreys-pimlott 🫎
Appreciate this informational video still trying figure at a distance the identifying which is which plus trying figure foot prints how to tell the difference between coyote and wolf other than wolf is larger. Up close usually tell scrawny howling coyote. In a distance Eyeing 👁️ A view and prints knowing an accurate specific knowing.
I support any kind of reintroduction of native species. In Colorado we voted to reintroduce wolves and farmers are very angry about it. I wish more people would understand the importance.
I'm in the same boat. Unfortunately, wolves have been vilified for so long that there's this engrained antagonism toward this. I hope that as more of these reintroductions take place, people will come to see how truly beneficial they are!
I'm all for more restorations as well, as long as they're done properly and based in proper biological principles. There was a reintroduction effort in the Great Smoky Mountains with red wolves that failed, so I'd just be wary of efforts that aren't done properly 👍
The biggest thing we can do is show our support for their survival and reintroduction. The biggest obstacle facing these animals, really, is that people continue to be scared of them and fear-monger about how dangerous they are. We can show our support and tell our elected officials that we support Red Wolf recovery, hopefully leading to more institutional and public support for them! The program has been working for many years now, but has just been hampered by baseless attacks and USFWS not doing their job properly.
Cumberland Island is fascinating to me. I just finished reading Untamed, about Carol Ruckdeschel, and now I really want to do a video down there someday!
Yeah, I was pretty surprised to see that as well! Just goes to show how these ecosystems are interconnected and how impacts to one species can funnel down to others.
There needs to be a better partner program - we'll have to commit to a program that will mitigate any perceptions of threat to (especially) agriculture. If a wolf does kill a rancher's livestock, part of wildlife recovery needs to have a replacement fund to compensate for the loss.
Totally agree on the partner program front - any successful reintroduction has to have the support of the livestock owners in that area, which is one thing I think the USFWS will address in its new management plan. Currently, there is a compensation program though, funded through the red wolf coalition: redwolves.com/newsite/online-resources/rwc-depredation-compensation-program/
Why are we shrinking restoration areas? Not only are they beneficial for biodiversity but they can also give a bit more distance between the humans and fauna which I see as a bit of hypocrisy coming from those who don’t want to support these efforts. Great vid!
@@NationalParkDiaries never gotten the chance. I live on the barrier islands to the east, so I don’t get out there often. But a neighbor of mine actually worked in the Red Wolf program.
@@jacobjerny7502 Gotcha. Well I hope you get to see one someday, they're beautiful animals! I think the North Carolina Zoo is now the lead on the breeding program, so if you're ever out that way, it might be a good spot to see them!
This is a species that truly does need help ! I love the wolves in Yellowstone and other western states but the powers that be are not working hard enough to find compromises with those that have to live with these predators! True they are charismatic symbols of nature and very similar to our own beloved dogs ! But too much of our conversation decisions and support risers and falls on emotional connection from the people and not sustainable compromise between scientific implications and social/economic consequences of living with these animals that, like any other keystone species that can effect humans directly wolves need management and that includes culling when necessary and allowing the public to have hunts and defend property and animals.. until we embrace that every wolves can recover to those levels out west than it’ll be so much harder to hey things going out east where the red wolf truly needs tolerance and care now more than ever
This is where I foresee the need to teach farmers and ranchers how to use defensive livestock and guardians as the story of Texas Longhorn cattle suggests, has been personally witnessed, and the long history of guardian dog breeds. The Florida wildlife corridor is also an encouraging project that could also be a potential Recovery zone in its northern reach. Wildlife corridors, rewilding with native prey, (like elk that have been reintroduced to the Appalachians), and adapting agriculture with livestock guardians to make the wolves think twice; will be the essential tools needed I foresee. I intend to pursue this after briefly, helping Yellowstone and Mexican Gray wolves at my local conservation center, and would often parrot about Texas Longhorns, because of their defense tactics. They are similar to how wolves hunt muskoxen and bison, yet more intelligently vicious. Longhorns and the newly bred Taurus cattle in Europe, circle around their calves to defend with their size and horns, and the leader of the herd be a cow or a bull will charge, swing the horns, or stomp in defense. Muskoxen and bison do the same thing. At the end of the day, it is the wolves place as a native Apex predator in their ecosystem; and the well planned potential of rewilding along with adaptive agriculture I described. May that newly realized human and natural ecosystem ever see the light of day.
Im all for restoration of wolves, Bears too, Mountain Lions, actually every large (and small) predator to the landscape. The notion of the big bad blood drinking bone smashing wolf is curious to me. Because thats the way we act twoards everything that might "oh make hunting harder cus they'll eat the elk" or "means I have to stop using certain pesticided in my fields" We are the big bad wolves. The wolves, are just cute little nature-dogs with a bite force of 400 psi (~ 3.2 times your bite force) Until our society recognizes this, we cant really xpect the politicians of today to act on it.
Right. Totally unearned villainization of wolves in this country. In fact, they're beneficial to the landscapes they're present in, as documented many times over! And that leads to better hunting lol.
Yup, all they need is a chance, which we have the ability to provide them. Such a shame what is happening, but I hope that with the recent reintroductions, we start to see the program be successful again.
This issue is far more deep than this video goes. If you want to convince conservative conservationists like myself you'll need to present my side as well. I think red wolves need a place in our ecosystem. I think they need millions of acres of space. BUT you cannot put their lives ahead of the livelihoods of the people who live in the same ecosystem. If a redwolf is killing off a persons livestock upon which they rely on for their own life, that person has a constitutional right above that animal every single time. We could include bits about how corporations who do not pay taxes own 95% of the land east of the mississippi instead of individuals who SHOULD (according to our stupid laws) be paying taxes on those lands, and how a single individual with hundreds of made up corporations can own vast acres of land and not allow redwolves to live on those lands.
I appreciate your perspective, but there has been little evidence in support of widespread red wolf livestock predation. It happens, of course, and there's a compensation program in place for that, but buy and large, red wolves would prefer natural prey like deer, racoons, and opossums. Any widespread conservation effort in the East will have to include the buy-in of private landowners, and their rights should absolutely be respected, but in the case of red wolves in North Carolina, misinformation campaigns played a large part in turning local support against wolf reintroduction, which meant the restoration couldn't continue from a place of fact and reason. Local buy-in is key, but the playing field also has to be even, which was not the case in this restoration. Source for livestock program: redwolves.com/newsite/online-resources/rwc-depredation-compensation-program/ Source for misinformation campaign: www.thenation.com/article/environment/red-wolf-extinction/
Yup, it's definitely a political/cultural issue, rather than biological. We've seen successful reintroductions in many places, but the difference with red wolves has been political interference.
I love Wolves especially Red Wolves Red Wolves are being treated like how red haired people were yet people are still murdering Red Wolves in cold blood for no reason they haven't done anything to deserve that I love Predator animals my favorite Animals are Wolves Foxes Coyotes Hyenas Sharks Crocodiles Alligators Komodo Dragons Snakes Hedgehogs Raccoons Bats Mice Dogs and Rats. I prefer these animals over bugs I'm more scared of Spiders Cockroaches Daddy Longlegs Spiders and Mosquito Hawks. I don't like creepy crawlies. This needs to stop we need Red Wolves and Predator animals they're important. I also like meat too and I love animals too. I'm more of a carnivore too. Red Wolves should be attractive like red haired people since red hair and red fur is a rare gene and it shouldn't be hated.
Here comes some incredibly biased statements, but oh well. I cannot believe that such ridiculous views are even tolerated in the 21st century. Choosing between the extinction of an entire species or a mild inconvenience for farmers should be an easy choice. We as a species are still so absurdly self centered and it's infuriating. We need to metaphorically grow up and start caring about absolutely anything except for our own comfort and convenience. You cannot seriously think you're in the right for taking over an ecosystem, destroying it, and then getting mad when animals continue trying to survive. Imagine if someone broke into your house, destroyed all of your stuff, and then got angry when you came home! That's what we're doing. Carnivores wouldn't predate on livestock if we took care of the ecosystems we live in, but apparently it's easier to just eradicate them AND their habitat than to just not demolish everything in our path and replace it with concrete and cattle pasture. Hopefully we can be a little less selfish before it's too late
Unfortunately, I've come to learn in the several wolf videos that I've done, that negative attitudes toward wolves (and predators in general) are deeply ingrained in our society. I agree with you in that we need to change our mindset and start to see predators for the essential parts of ecosystems that they are. My hope is that, through videos like this one, I can do my small part to help raise awareness on how special and important they are. Thanks for watching and contributing to the discussion.
@@NationalParkDiaries yeah man, I love all your stuff! I would not be so aggressive/angry about it in a conversation where I was trying to change someone’s opinion-or try not to at least, haha. I think your videos are definitely contributing positively to the debate. You present the facts in a pretty unbiased and engaging way
@@Immortalthrone666 I appreciate that! It's a core philosophy of mine that the more people understand about these incredible places and species, the better chance we have of saving them!
Carolina wild dogs have coexisted with red wolves and Mexican wolves for millennia. Based on photographs and descriptions, I think Carolina wild dogs live down to Tierra del Fuego, where they possibly outcompeted German Shepherd-sized Argentinean warrahs.
This is more than a good enough cause in honor of Don Karnage. The reasons being: He has a special way of making kidnappings amusing. He has a unique, British accent. He has a pilot's license. And most of all, he wears pants amid several stupid enemies who don't.
You shouldn’t be able to hunt red wolves unless you have a certified permit!! Right now nobody should be certified to hunt red wolves and there should be sanctuaries everywhere in the US!!
There wasn’t widespread success the population continuously required new individuals during the entire length of time which the Yellowstone wolves didn’t require(yes other wolves were brought in but it was a handful of individuals) the second you tell someone “hey man you cannot defend your property from a wild animal” you are gonna loss people off, cause they in-fact do eat livestock like any other predator would. Stop lying to people and just tell them the truth and pay them for loses and you’ll get what you want eventually.
While the red wolf restoration did require a constant reintroduction of new wolves, it was also a different type of restoration than Yellowstone, which called for different techniques and strategies. I don't necessarily think it's fair to compare them in that way, given the constraints red wolves faced in terms of habitat and the fact that their population was way smaller when the restoration started (fewer than 20 individuals). Given those constraints, I think the red wolf program was incredibly successful until it was cut down internally by the USFWS. As for the livestock depredation, it is true they prey on livestock occasionally, but it is not widespread and there is actually a compensation program: redwolves.com/newsite/online-resources/rwc-depredation-compensation-program/
@@NationalParkDiaries my friend the program had decades and wasn’t able to produce a stable population in all that time… that isn’t a successful program because it did not in fact achieve its intended outcome. The compensation program wouldn’t cover whitetail on hunting ranches which was the main income for many of these people.
@@crisitansardina9595 Respectfully, I think we have different definitions of success. Red Wolves were literally declared extinct in the wild and the program was the first of its kind anywhere in the United States. They were starting from scratch when it came to large carnivore restoration, so to take the wild population from 0 to over 130 in a few decades is wildly successful if you ask me. The only reason the population has collapsed in recent years is because USFWS failed to keep supporting it. Also, when it comes to deer, there is some evidence that suggest red wolf populations may actually help deer populations: www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/red-wolf-north-carolina-deer-predation/
@@NationalParkDiaries agreed they absolutely found success however, if you went to a race to win and you lost but you let’s say ran your best time, that wouldn’t be a successful race because the goal was to win not get better. The red wolf project failed to actually achieve its intended goal, did they learn much yes, did they get red wolves to rewind successfully yes, but could they create a a self sustaining population without human intervention obviously not. Also while yes you might see a less sick individuals in a population no there would be a overall drop in white tailed deer numbers. This a common misconception that predators will only eat the sick,weak or young but the reality is you wouldn’t have wolves if that was the case obviously they take large healthy individuals with at least a fair amount of consistency. No one is being fooled by the idea if I let something that eats my animals on the my land I will get more of those animals. At very least the wolves would crest an ecosystem of fear which would push individuals off properties.
@@crisitansardina9595 Again, I think we have different definitions of success. I don't think the program was implemented at its full strength for nearly long enough to consider it a failure. As for the deer populations, I will again direct you to the article I listed above which contains several studies which suggest the presence of red wolves ultimately led to more/healthier deer populations.
Deer populations in northern Minnesota have been bleak for the last 10 years. Dont listen to the wildlife experts or the DNR. Ask the deer hunters and you get honest answers.
I have one. I rescued her from the local shelter. Unfortunately they did not know what they had, and spayed her. It took nearly 3 months to get her adjusted to our home. Just now she is beginning to howl and is very playful. Raising a red wolf is like a toddler from hell. You need to be patient. No abuse. Have a large cage. When your wolf tares shit up ... cage them for a couple of hours. Good luck!
@@NationalParkDiaries Yup. I'm a whole heart conservative and it pains me to see many other conservatives give way on environmental protection to protect the profits of oil companies and private interests... or even to be called a tree huger. But that's the world we live in and we all do our best i guess.
@@zaca211 Many conservatives not the wealthy ones always vote against their best interests. These oil companies do not actually care about people just making $$$$ whole destroying the planet
@@zaca211 I appreciate you standing up for these issues! Environmental protection should be a non-partisan issue for me. If we want to ensure these places and species are still around for future generations, we've got to make sure we protect them! Thanks for your perspective!
I'm all for saving endangered wolves, but if the red wolf, according to DNA analysis, is really just an ancient hybrid between the gray wolf and coyote, and the eastern coyote, again according to DNA analysis, is a modern hybrid between the gray wolf and coyote, then what's the point? Mother Nature has already produced a new "red wolf" to replace the extirpated one.
A new study has revealed that it might actually be the opposite, with the red wolf more accurately representing the shared ancestor with coyotes. So with this new research, the red wolf came before the coyote.
@@MoctezumaStudios environmental planning, but land use planning in general really interests me. My undergrad was in Conservation Biology and understanding how intimately linked good planning and good conservation are is really important to me. I try and work this in on the channel as often as I can.
I live in eastern north carolina near where they did the restoration program. One day I was driving down the highway back from alligator river and was lucky enough to see a red wolf standing on the side of the road. I thought it was coyote at first but as I got closer I realized it was almost as tall as my car. Even though it was for a split second I could just tell that was a lucky experience. Red wolves are one of North Carolinas biggest symbols, I mean it's literally states mascot (go heels though). I can't believe the people of NC have successfully petitioned to stop this and I hope we can do better to reintroduce this back sooner rather than when it's too late.
What an incredible experience! So glad you got to see that. I hope this round of reintroductions gets the program back on track again 🙏
They introduced it so they can refund them again 😂
A wonder-filled sighting although you're exaggerating their size greatly!
Remember what Cameron told us very accurately that they are larger than an average sized Coyote, however smaller than an average sized Grey 🐺 Wolf!
Additionally, the historic photo shown of multiple Wolf pelts at 03:19 are of the now extinct ''Buffalo Wolf" subspecies of Grey Wolf 🐺 Wolf! They were probably the largest Grey Wolf subspecies in the world! 🌎
🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🌎 🇺🇲 🐺 🦊 🐺 🇺🇸 🌎 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
No controversy here, we all know red wolves deserve their world back
Absolutely 💯🐺
If they actually existed
@@jeffslote9671so long as the less than 300 are alive at all, and their historic wolf neighbors could help them genetically, along with necessary wildlife corridors, (like the Florida wildlife corridor project as well), I foresee a path to recovery with the red wolves. I am very happy beginning volunteer work at my local wolf conservation center.
Well said.
I foresee that wildlife corridors, and the type of habitat and ecosystem restoration that is beginning to happen in Europe, (I recently learned about), with the re-introduction of European bison in certain areas is the beginning.
For red wolf habitat, it will definitely include wildlife corridors across the south, training them to hunt the feral pigs, gearing up cattle ranchers with Texas Longhorns, and possibly Florida cracker cattle to do the circle herding defense, and possibly reintroducing, (where historically native), Manitoban elk like in the Smokies, and possibly Plains bison, as Europeans are beginning to demonstrate as explained.
Those, and maybe sparse breeding with the great plains Wolf that has recovered in Minnesota and Wisconsin for genetic diversity. Could all be the keys to helping the red wolf recover. I’ve even heard that the North Carolina red wolves, sometimes hunt feral pigs, which suggest that they could become a resident predator for them besides committed pig hunting.
It is all upon us to visit our local Wolf conservation centers to get educated, and to witness wolves for ourselves. They are very much the original wild dogs of the northern hemisphere.
Thank you so much for making this video! This really needs more awareness! I live in an area where Red Wolves historically roamed, and I hope so dearly that the children of tomorrow will get to grow up hearing the call of the Red Wolf in the forests once again. Wolves are our relatives, and they are essential. We, the settlers of this land, owe it to them to help them heal from the damage we caused.
Thanks for watching it, your support means a lot! Our landscape deserves wolves and I sincerely hope they can make a comeback with this latest round of reintroductions. This program works if we let it!
I love watching these videos but they make me so sad. You do such a great job covering the different impacts, it's a shame people don't fully understand what they're doing.
Haha, sorry about that! I try and balance happy and sad things lol. Unfortunately, when it comes to the environment, there is a LOT of bad things. I appreciate you sticking with it and supporting the channel and these stories!
Love your channel. I hope the red wolf gets another chance. I wish they would re-introduce them to Mark Twain National Forest in the Ozarks.
Much appreciated, thanks for watching! I would also like to see different locations for red wolf reintroduction - hopefully the program can get back on its feet and realize some of those opportunities.
They could
This video filled me with so much frustration and anger. I cannot believe that this has happened. I'm distraught.
If we can help spread the word, we can help these wolves have another chance!
@@NationalParkDiaries The funds for killing a red wolf should be $100,000 and a year in jail. Followed by a $250,000 fine like with the bald eagle!!
There are lots of people here in Europe who wouldn't mind it if every single wolf in Europe got shot. The fear that was instilled in people is real, even though wolves are the most gentle and social creatures you can imagine. Personally I feel that wolves are a sign of a healthy ecosystem, and their lack a clear sign that things are not okay.
I have followed the Wolf Conservation Center for a while now, and have come to enjoy watching them play and interact with each other is so touching. The lazy howling to stay in contact at a distance is amazing to watch and listen to. It's also very sad to see US states allow wolves to be killed for sport. The whole thing about 'protecting livestock' is also such nonsense and more based on ignorance and the refusal to accept that wolves would rather hunt their natural prey than try to go after livestock. If we destroy an ecosystem and all prey animals in it, then sure, a wolf pack would have no other choice, but then that would be on us, wouldn't it?
You hit the nail on the head. Wolves are absolutely a sign of a healthy ecosystem and their treatment here in the states has been vicious and unwarranted for centuries. One of the reasons I wanted to make a video like this is to just put good info out there in the hopes that, in some small way, it helps correct the narrative. I appreciate your insight and thanks for watching and helping wolves!
I hate that people just think that they're more important than nature. I hate it.
Excellent video about a very important topic. Well done!
Thanks so much!
They should try And release red wolves in Okefenokee south Georgia. It's a 440,000 acre refuge, not many coyotes although they are here. There's a ton of white tail deers. It's a very protected refuge
I’m sorry he ignored this very good comment!
Loved the format for this video. Bouncing between research, commentary, and B-roll makes it flow really well. Plus the wolves are cute.
Nice, glad you liked it! And yeah, the wolves are so cute. It was so awesome getting to go down there and see them
Live 45 minutes from the seewee center. It's an amazing place. The coastal refugees gateway center on Roanoke Island NC has some great education on the wolves too.
I grew up like 30 minutes from there, and even visited it once, but somehow never saw the red wolves. It's kind of embarrassing, but better late than never to find an extraordinary place like that!
@@NationalParkDiaries they are very shy from my experience. The footage of them in your video is some of the better views I have seen.
@@hashashin1113 Interesting. I was there by myself for a while and they seemed to really open up at that point. The female was actually really curious and almost came up to the glass to check things out!
@National Park Diaries that's awesome. Maybe they are just less shy around single individuals or single men. I know "Wolfman Rob" was the primary caretaker and keeper of the animals. Hope he's still there and well. Did you get to meet him?
@@hashashin1113 Yes! He was still there! We had a long conversation about wolves and his passion was infectious. Real awesome dude, it was a pleasure meeting him
Currently putting this in the staff training video for Coastal Expeditions. Thank you for telling the story so well.
Oh man, thanks Tayt! It was really nice talking to you on my trip - hope you're doing well and keep up the good work!
Great video! It's almost hard to believe how strong of an impact one loud minority can make, but it's good to know that these recovery programs have a chance to be successful again. Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks Brady! I'm hopeful for some successful reintroductions now that the program is back up and running. Fingers crossed!
Headed out to the refuge tomorrow. These wolves are essential
Totally agreed!
Glad to see you covering the red wolf!
I've been wanting to tell this story for so long. I've been obsessed with it for a few years now, but had to wait until I could go down to the refuge and do it properly. Such an incredible experience.
Man, that is some beautiful forest
It's stunning! Highly recommend a trip to Bulls Island if you're ever in the area! You'll get to see a part of the South Carolina coast that is sadly pretty rare these days.
The biggest issue with Wolf re-introduction in the Eastern USA is simply that the niche they evolved to fill mostly doesn't exist anymore. Large prey animals aren't common, habitats are segmented, and humans are everywhere.
The Coyote didn't rise just because the wolf was gone, at least not here(There are spots where that was all to it like Yellowstone, and the Wolves re-established themselves quickly once given the chance), but because being smaller and handling humans better is simply a better strategy for surviving in the area in the current habitat situation. Coyotes are generally small enough they don't prompt immediate human freak outs, and they're skittish enough to avoid excessive encounters. But they're not so skittish humans being in the vicinity completely messes them up either. They have a bit of wolf and dog in them these days too, though the ratio varies heavily urban to suburban with good reason. (Urban ones tend to be smaller, live solo or in pairs, and eat mostly rabbits and rodents and other small animals plus scraps, and they're more comfortable near humans. Suburban ones are a bit larger, have bigger teeth, live in bigger groups, eat a lot more deer, and are a bit more skittish around people. They're evolving to fill the niche that's left over, a mid sized flexible predator can handle humans better than a larger one)
It's brutal how decades of work can be erased just because some politictians wanted some easy points. Hopefully future efforts will go better.
Very sad, but yeah, I'm hopeful the recent introductions are a sign of good things to come!
I've been fortunate enough to see a handful of the wolves gere in eastern N.C. I just uploaded a video I took of one back in May of this year.
Lucky! I hope to see them one day myself!
Awesome video bro. I thought I knew about red wolves already but you definitely taught me some things. Would love to see a similar video about the Florida panther as a Florida native and wildlife conservation student.
Thank you, glad you liked it! I'd love to talk about Florida Panthers at some point. They fascinate me almost as much as red wolves do!
The struggle continues a massive effort in NC too ! Bright hunter orange collars
I sincerely hope the latest round of reintroductions are successful. I'm a Southerner, and the South needs its red wolves!!
Great video. You’ve got a good voice for this work. Greetings from Portugal- home of the Iberian Wolf, also rare & endangered.
Thank you! I feel like I need to do a video on the Iberian Wolf now lol. I'll just have a whole wolf series on the channel
Loved this episode! Why did the reintroduction fail at the Smokies? That’s sad to hear.
From what I understand, it wasn't as well implemented. They had a real problem with diseases and malnourishment and the wolves kept coming into lowland areas to hunt, bringing them into conflict with humans.
Glad you like the episode though, thanks for watching!
The pups kept getting killed by Parvo, Since they couldn’t build their population coyotes kept winning the game of life.
Love seeing you on site to talk about this. I feel like it really brings the video to a new level.
I had a blast out there. Honestly, my favorite video I've made to date. It's what I'm envisioning as the future of the channel, so as it continues to grow, I want to do more stories this way. Thanks for watching!
Love this video, I have a trip to alligator river planned for this summer to look for snakes and have been excited at the chance of seeing the wolves
Thank you! I hope you find some on your visit! I was hoping to make my way up to Alligator River myself for this story, but then I decided on Bull's Island. Best of luck!
1st. Love your channel. Some irl footage too is cool. Protect the Wolfs!
Im Norwegian too so why igaf about american national parks is a credit to you😂
That means a lot! I appreciate you being here and supporting the channel! Someday I will do a story on Norwegian National Parks 😎🇧🇻
Awesome! Thank you. Norway is truly a stunning country at many coastal parts!
@@BuMPiHD Those fjords 🤌
Frfr
Great video about a very interesting topic. As you might be able to guess from my username, wolves are my favorite animal so I welcome any video or topic bringing them up! I had never heard of a red wolf conservation and restoration before so I'll definitely have to look into it a bit more (especially that bit about Great Smoky Mountains!)
They're very special animals! I love doing stories on them as well and the story of the red wolf is as special as it gets for me living in the SE. The Smokies reintroduction could almost be a second video lol, but definitely worth reading up on!
Once again I am amazed by your knowledge and presentation. We care about the same things in this world, wish I could help more. Love you Grandmommie.
Thanks Grandmommie!
This was very enlightening and a great explanation!
Much appreciated, thanks for watching!
Once again a brilliant video, keep up the awesome work👍🏾
Much appreciated Kwasi, thanks for watching and supporting the channel!
great vid- probably one of your best. thank you!
Wow, that means a lot. Thank you so much!
great video, this channel deserves way more views
Thanks Aidan, I appreciate that!
Excellent video and I agree with you, respect nature and preserve it.
Appreciate it, thanks for watching!
I just saw 4 redwolf pups yesterday. It was amazing to see them running around playing. I could see them getting mistaken as coyote.
Oh wow, so cool! I was fortunate enough to see the pair they had at Cape Romain NWR, which was incredible. I was there by myself at the end of the day, and the female came right up to the enclosure and we had an amazing moment. Such special animals.
You should do a video series on unique ecosystems of national parks like about a endemic species to the national park or the region that it's in like Olympic, death valley, channel islands, and mammoth cave
Lots of good ideas out there for unique NP ecosystems! I'm sure I'll cover plenty! Thanks for the suggestion!
awesome video 🔥🔥
Much appreciated, thanks for watching!
It’s so interesting to see the contrast between red wolves and Mexican gray wolves, another heavily managed and monitored population. Mexican wolves also face a lot of misleading press and livestock conflict. But in spite of that, the population is steadily growing and just hit 241 this year
Good to hear! Wolves face so much opposition across the country, so I'm always happy to hear news of population increases!
We need to save as many animals as we can. Wolves are not a problem they are an answer
👆💯
Sad situation here in Pennsylvania. So many hunters are horribly prejudiced against any predator. The game commission has reintroduced Fishers and they are doing well. Now they want to reintroduce Pine Martins and there are complaints about that. But overall people are all for it, including me. The game commission is blamed for introducing coyotes in the state and even mountain lions. Both, totally incorrect, but they will be saying this 100 years from now.
It was my hope with this video, at least in some small part, to help correct the narrative on wolves. They've been so unfairly treated and deserve a spot on our landscape once again
Well done video! Enjoyed it very much. Back in the 1990s I was in Algonquin Provincial Park, driving during early morning. A wolf ran across in front of my car. No problem as I was driving slow. The though of hitting a moose will do that to you. Anyway…very distinct long legs but what surprised me was the red tinge to its coat. After seeing the wolf I slow to a stop, looked in the rear view mirror, and another passed in back of my car. Thrill of a lifetime. But what I really want to mention is that the park at the time mentioned in their literature that the genetics of their wolves matched Red Wolf. I doubt they will ever agree on the canid genetics. But I still wonder today if it is the same species as the critically genetic Red Wolves. These Algonquin Wolves fit the size of Red Wolves and definitely are smaller than Gray or Timber Wolves. But they looked big to me!
Thank you! And yes, I think you're right about that! I came across some research suggesting red wolf DNA up in Algonquin Provincial Park, so we'll see what happens with that!
@NationalParkDiaries
Greetings, Cameron! 🙏
You both might be interested in the Algonquin Provincial Park oriented Wolf 🐺 information and photos that are included in a recently published partial biography of my father Dr Doug Pimlott.
I've provided a link to that book on the Friends of Algonquin Park website below.
I searched for a postal address for NPD online Cameron, so that I could mail a copy of that book [as well as a body of related (and current) publications about the very closely related Algonquin Wolf] to you.
Perhaps I could also serve as a volunteer guide during your first visit to Algonquin Provincial Park in Central Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
It would be my pleasure and honour! (Canadian spelling eh?)
Cheers!
Yours is my opinion, one of the best natural and human history of North America websites currently available on the Internet!!
Thank you very much for all that you do for nature!
It's what keeps us all alive!
🌎 🌎 🌎 🌎 🌏
www.algonquinpark.on.ca/news/2021/2021-09-16_newbook_douglas_pimlott.php
🐺
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/douglas-humphreys-pimlott
🫎
@@markpimlott2879 thank you very much. I will check into this!
They can & should resume reintroduction!
Agreed!
The Washington NFL team almost made the red wolves as their mascot. Save the Red Wolves
That would have been so cool! Not a Washington fan, but totally better than the Commanders lol
@@NationalParkDiaries I agree but good news Arkansas State has the red wolves as their mascot same with the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
I knew about the Chattanooga mascot because I used to live in Greenville and they play the Triumph a lot. Fully in support of more red wolf mascots!
Appreciate this informational video still trying figure at a distance the identifying which is which plus trying figure foot prints how to tell the difference between coyote and wolf other than wolf is larger. Up close usually tell scrawny howling coyote. In a distance Eyeing 👁️
A view and prints knowing an accurate specific knowing.
Yeah, identification is certainly tough at a distance. That's one of the reasons they banned the nighttime coyote hunts on Alligator River
I support any kind of reintroduction of native species. In Colorado we voted to reintroduce wolves and farmers are very angry about it. I wish more people would understand the importance.
I'm in the same boat. Unfortunately, wolves have been vilified for so long that there's this engrained antagonism toward this. I hope that as more of these reintroductions take place, people will come to see how truly beneficial they are!
Thank U brother !
Thanks for watching!
You should do a follow up and cover the Mexican Wolf recovery
Already on the list!
Looks like a beautiful place. A loud minority causing a problem, definitely a theme
It's a special place. I was honored to be able to go there and experience the place where we brought them back from extinction. I'll never forget it.
I think they should be fully reintroduced to the wild at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky.
I'm all for more restorations as well, as long as they're done properly and based in proper biological principles. There was a reintroduction effort in the Great Smoky Mountains with red wolves that failed, so I'd just be wary of efforts that aren't done properly 👍
What did they do the with the 300 other wolves they captured??
They were used for a captive breeding program. All red wolves today, wild and captive, are descendants of those original 300
Dude how can we help i would love to see these animals make a combat back to other parts of southern US
The biggest thing we can do is show our support for their survival and reintroduction. The biggest obstacle facing these animals, really, is that people continue to be scared of them and fear-monger about how dangerous they are. We can show our support and tell our elected officials that we support Red Wolf recovery, hopefully leading to more institutional and public support for them! The program has been working for many years now, but has just been hampered by baseless attacks and USFWS not doing their job properly.
You should do a video on Cumberland island and why they don't take care of the horses.
Cumberland Island is fascinating to me. I just finished reading Untamed, about Carol Ruckdeschel, and now I really want to do a video down there someday!
2:20 i didn't know one endangered species can help another endangerd species.
Yeah, I was pretty surprised to see that as well! Just goes to show how these ecosystems are interconnected and how impacts to one species can funnel down to others.
I’m a North Carolinian, how can I help? I am old enough to have my voice be heard, but don’t really know who to talk to.
SAVE THE RED WOLVES 😭💞🐺
🙌🙌🙌
There needs to be a better partner program - we'll have to commit to a program that will mitigate any perceptions of threat to (especially) agriculture. If a wolf does kill a rancher's livestock, part of wildlife recovery needs to have a replacement fund to compensate for the loss.
Totally agree on the partner program front - any successful reintroduction has to have the support of the livestock owners in that area, which is one thing I think the USFWS will address in its new management plan. Currently, there is a compensation program though, funded through the red wolf coalition: redwolves.com/newsite/online-resources/rwc-depredation-compensation-program/
Why are we shrinking restoration areas? Not only are they beneficial for biodiversity but they can also give a bit more distance between the humans and fauna which I see as a bit of hypocrisy coming from those who don’t want to support these efforts. Great vid!
Definitely agree. We need restoration areas as large as we can. Thanks for watching!
I’m very lucky to live right next to Alligator River Park. It’s a beautiful, if difficult to navigate landscape.
Have you ever seen red wolves out there?
@@NationalParkDiaries never gotten the chance. I live on the barrier islands to the east, so I don’t get out there often. But a neighbor of mine actually worked in the Red Wolf program.
@@jacobjerny7502 Gotcha. Well I hope you get to see one someday, they're beautiful animals! I think the North Carolina Zoo is now the lead on the breeding program, so if you're ever out that way, it might be a good spot to see them!
I'm definitely on the side of the wolves.
🙌🐺
The yellowstone restored wolf is a totally different wolf then the priginal wolfs from that area
Right. Same species (grey wolf), just a different population from the Northern Rockies
😂 that's propaganda and fantasy
This is a species that truly does need help ! I love the wolves in Yellowstone and other western states but the powers that be are not working hard enough to find compromises with those that have to live with these predators! True they are charismatic symbols of nature and very similar to our own beloved dogs ! But too much of our conversation decisions and support risers and falls on emotional connection from the people and not sustainable compromise between scientific implications and social/economic consequences of living with these animals that, like any other keystone species that can effect humans directly wolves need management and that includes culling when necessary and allowing the public to have hunts and defend property and animals.. until we embrace that every wolves can recover to those levels out west than it’ll be so much harder to hey things going out east where the red wolf truly needs tolerance and care now more than ever
This is where I foresee the need to teach farmers and ranchers how to use defensive livestock and guardians as the story of Texas Longhorn cattle suggests, has been personally witnessed, and the long history of guardian dog breeds. The Florida wildlife corridor is also an encouraging project that could also be a potential Recovery zone in its northern reach.
Wildlife corridors, rewilding with native prey, (like elk that have been reintroduced to the Appalachians), and adapting agriculture with livestock guardians to make the wolves think twice; will be the essential tools needed I foresee.
I intend to pursue this after briefly, helping Yellowstone and Mexican Gray wolves at my local conservation center, and would often parrot about Texas Longhorns, because of their defense tactics. They are similar to how wolves hunt muskoxen and bison, yet more intelligently vicious.
Longhorns and the newly bred Taurus cattle in Europe, circle around their calves to defend with their size and horns, and the leader of the herd be a cow or a bull will charge, swing the horns, or stomp in defense.
Muskoxen and bison do the same thing.
At the end of the day, it is the wolves place as a native Apex predator in their ecosystem; and the well planned potential of rewilding along with adaptive agriculture I described.
May that newly realized human and natural ecosystem ever see the light of day.
Why are most of your pictures other species of wolves not RED ?
The problem is we have red wolves ready for reintroducton , but the states do not WANT THEM !
Im all for restoration of wolves, Bears too, Mountain Lions, actually every large (and small) predator to the landscape.
The notion of the big bad blood drinking bone smashing wolf is curious to me. Because thats the way we act twoards everything that might "oh make hunting harder cus they'll eat the elk" or "means I have to stop using certain pesticided in my fields"
We are the big bad wolves.
The wolves, are just cute little nature-dogs with a bite force of 400 psi (~ 3.2 times your bite force)
Until our society recognizes this, we cant really xpect the politicians of today to act on it.
Right. Totally unearned villainization of wolves in this country. In fact, they're beneficial to the landscapes they're present in, as documented many times over! And that leads to better hunting lol.
Imagine if it was reintrocing tigers. People would go nuts
Count me in on the side of the wolves. It is so difficult for humans to be balanced.
Yup, all they need is a chance, which we have the ability to provide them. Such a shame what is happening, but I hope that with the recent reintroductions, we start to see the program be successful again.
Save the wolves and the Karens can kick rocks
@@matthewwelsh294 🤟
Aren’t nimbys just the best kind of people? 😤
It's infuriating sometimes 😡
Such a shame we have to fight this again. Going to require a lot of public education.
Totally agreed. This video is my small way of trying to raise that awareness. Thanks for watching and caring about red wolves.
This issue is far more deep than this video goes. If you want to convince conservative conservationists like myself you'll need to present my side as well. I think red wolves need a place in our ecosystem. I think they need millions of acres of space. BUT you cannot put their lives ahead of the livelihoods of the people who live in the same ecosystem. If a redwolf is killing off a persons livestock upon which they rely on for their own life, that person has a constitutional right above that animal every single time. We could include bits about how corporations who do not pay taxes own 95% of the land east of the mississippi instead of individuals who SHOULD (according to our stupid laws) be paying taxes on those lands, and how a single individual with hundreds of made up corporations can own vast acres of land and not allow redwolves to live on those lands.
I appreciate your perspective, but there has been little evidence in support of widespread red wolf livestock predation. It happens, of course, and there's a compensation program in place for that, but buy and large, red wolves would prefer natural prey like deer, racoons, and opossums. Any widespread conservation effort in the East will have to include the buy-in of private landowners, and their rights should absolutely be respected, but in the case of red wolves in North Carolina, misinformation campaigns played a large part in turning local support against wolf reintroduction, which meant the restoration couldn't continue from a place of fact and reason. Local buy-in is key, but the playing field also has to be even, which was not the case in this restoration.
Source for livestock program: redwolves.com/newsite/online-resources/rwc-depredation-compensation-program/
Source for misinformation campaign: www.thenation.com/article/environment/red-wolf-extinction/
its unfortunate. too many americans instead of being proud that we have a unique wolf species just treat them like coyotes/pests.
Yup, it's definitely a political/cultural issue, rather than biological. We've seen successful reintroductions in many places, but the difference with red wolves has been political interference.
You will have to do something about Coyote hunters then the wolves will do it's own thing
I love Wolves especially Red Wolves Red Wolves are being treated like how red haired people were yet people are still murdering Red Wolves in cold blood for no reason they haven't done anything to deserve that I love Predator animals my favorite Animals are Wolves Foxes Coyotes Hyenas Sharks Crocodiles Alligators Komodo Dragons Snakes Hedgehogs Raccoons Bats Mice Dogs and Rats.
I prefer these animals over bugs I'm more scared of Spiders Cockroaches Daddy Longlegs Spiders and Mosquito Hawks.
I don't like creepy crawlies.
This needs to stop we need Red Wolves and Predator animals they're important.
I also like meat too and I love animals too.
I'm more of a carnivore too.
Red Wolves should be attractive like red haired people since red hair and red fur is a rare gene and it shouldn't be hated.
Here comes some incredibly biased statements, but oh well. I cannot believe that such ridiculous views are even tolerated in the 21st century. Choosing between the extinction of an entire species or a mild inconvenience for farmers should be an easy choice. We as a species are still so absurdly self centered and it's infuriating. We need to metaphorically grow up and start caring about absolutely anything except for our own comfort and convenience. You cannot seriously think you're in the right for taking over an ecosystem, destroying it, and then getting mad when animals continue trying to survive. Imagine if someone broke into your house, destroyed all of your stuff, and then got angry when you came home! That's what we're doing. Carnivores wouldn't predate on livestock if we took care of the ecosystems we live in, but apparently it's easier to just eradicate them AND their habitat than to just not demolish everything in our path and replace it with concrete and cattle pasture. Hopefully we can be a little less selfish before it's too late
Unfortunately, I've come to learn in the several wolf videos that I've done, that negative attitudes toward wolves (and predators in general) are deeply ingrained in our society. I agree with you in that we need to change our mindset and start to see predators for the essential parts of ecosystems that they are. My hope is that, through videos like this one, I can do my small part to help raise awareness on how special and important they are. Thanks for watching and contributing to the discussion.
@@NationalParkDiaries yeah man, I love all your stuff! I would not be so aggressive/angry about it in a conversation where I was trying to change someone’s opinion-or try not to at least, haha. I think your videos are definitely contributing positively to the debate. You present the facts in a pretty unbiased and engaging way
@@Immortalthrone666 I appreciate that! It's a core philosophy of mine that the more people understand about these incredible places and species, the better chance we have of saving them!
Why do people keep killing everything!?
I am so angry right now
Help spread the word to save the red wolves!
There should be a $250,000 fine end two years in prison after a hundred thousand dollar fine and one year in prison like with the bald eagle!!
Carolina wild dogs have coexisted with red wolves and Mexican wolves for millennia. Based on photographs and descriptions, I think Carolina wild dogs live down to Tierra del Fuego, where they possibly outcompeted German Shepherd-sized Argentinean warrahs.
This is more than a good enough cause in honor of Don Karnage. The reasons being: He has a special way of making kidnappings amusing. He has a unique, British accent. He has a pilot's license. And most of all, he wears pants amid several stupid enemies who don't.
You shouldn’t be able to hunt red wolves unless you have a certified permit!!
Right now nobody should be certified to hunt red wolves and there should be sanctuaries everywhere in the US!!
There wasn’t widespread success the population continuously required new individuals during the entire length of time which the Yellowstone wolves didn’t require(yes other wolves were brought in but it was a handful of individuals) the second you tell someone “hey man you cannot defend your property from a wild animal” you are gonna loss people off, cause they in-fact do eat livestock like any other predator would. Stop lying to people and just tell them the truth and pay them for loses and you’ll get what you want eventually.
While the red wolf restoration did require a constant reintroduction of new wolves, it was also a different type of restoration than Yellowstone, which called for different techniques and strategies. I don't necessarily think it's fair to compare them in that way, given the constraints red wolves faced in terms of habitat and the fact that their population was way smaller when the restoration started (fewer than 20 individuals). Given those constraints, I think the red wolf program was incredibly successful until it was cut down internally by the USFWS.
As for the livestock depredation, it is true they prey on livestock occasionally, but it is not widespread and there is actually a compensation program: redwolves.com/newsite/online-resources/rwc-depredation-compensation-program/
@@NationalParkDiaries my friend the program had decades and wasn’t able to produce a stable population in all that time… that isn’t a successful program because it did not in fact achieve its intended outcome. The compensation program wouldn’t cover whitetail on hunting ranches which was the main income for many of these people.
@@crisitansardina9595 Respectfully, I think we have different definitions of success. Red Wolves were literally declared extinct in the wild and the program was the first of its kind anywhere in the United States. They were starting from scratch when it came to large carnivore restoration, so to take the wild population from 0 to over 130 in a few decades is wildly successful if you ask me. The only reason the population has collapsed in recent years is because USFWS failed to keep supporting it.
Also, when it comes to deer, there is some evidence that suggest red wolf populations may actually help deer populations: www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/red-wolf-north-carolina-deer-predation/
@@NationalParkDiaries agreed they absolutely found success however, if you went to a race to win and you lost but you let’s say ran your best time, that wouldn’t be a successful race because the goal was to win not get better. The red wolf project failed to actually achieve its intended goal, did they learn much yes, did they get red wolves to rewind successfully yes, but could they create a a self sustaining population without human intervention obviously not. Also while yes you might see a less sick individuals in a population no there would be a overall drop in white tailed deer numbers. This a common misconception that predators will only eat the sick,weak or young but the reality is you wouldn’t have wolves if that was the case obviously they take large healthy individuals with at least a fair amount of consistency. No one is being fooled by the idea if I let something that eats my animals on the my land I will get more of those animals. At very least the wolves would crest an ecosystem of fear which would push individuals off properties.
@@crisitansardina9595 Again, I think we have different definitions of success. I don't think the program was implemented at its full strength for nearly long enough to consider it a failure.
As for the deer populations, I will again direct you to the article I listed above which contains several studies which suggest the presence of red wolves ultimately led to more/healthier deer populations.
Deer populations in northern Minnesota have been bleak for the last 10 years. Dont listen to the wildlife experts or the DNR. Ask the deer hunters and you get honest answers.
I have one. I rescued her from the local shelter. Unfortunately they did not know what they had, and spayed her. It took nearly 3 months to get her adjusted to our home. Just now she is beginning to howl and is very playful. Raising a red wolf is like a toddler from hell. You need to be patient. No abuse. Have a large cage. When your wolf tares shit up ... cage them for a couple of hours. Good luck!
Welcome to the world of politics.
😤
@@NationalParkDiaries Yup. I'm a whole heart conservative and it pains me to see many other conservatives give way on environmental protection to protect the profits of oil companies and private interests... or even to be called a tree huger. But that's the world we live in and we all do our best i guess.
@@zaca211 Many conservatives not the wealthy ones always vote against their best interests. These oil companies do not actually care about people just making $$$$ whole destroying the planet
@@zaca211 I appreciate you standing up for these issues! Environmental protection should be a non-partisan issue for me. If we want to ensure these places and species are still around for future generations, we've got to make sure we protect them! Thanks for your perspective!
I'm all for saving endangered wolves, but if the red wolf, according to DNA analysis, is really just an ancient hybrid between the gray wolf and coyote, and the eastern coyote, again according to DNA analysis, is a modern hybrid between the gray wolf and coyote, then what's the point? Mother Nature has already produced a new "red wolf" to replace the extirpated one.
A new study has revealed that it might actually be the opposite, with the red wolf more accurately representing the shared ancestor with coyotes. So with this new research, the red wolf came before the coyote.
91st viewer! uploaded 33min ago!
Speedy!
@@NationalParkDiaries lmao Thanks my friend. I love your videos. They are supplementary to my urban planning degree.
@@MoctezumaStudios Hey, I have an urban planning degree too!
@@NationalParkDiaries DOPE! What was your focus during your studies?
@@MoctezumaStudios environmental planning, but land use planning in general really interests me. My undergrad was in Conservation Biology and understanding how intimately linked good planning and good conservation are is really important to me. I try and work this in on the channel as often as I can.
The thumbnail looks like a large coyote?
How dumb so close but so far
It's unfortunate. My hope is that a renewed effort with better preparation for local landowners will make the program successful once again.