Editing Red wolf (section)

== Description and behavior ==
[[File:Canis rufus 1 - Syracuse Zoo.jpg|thumb|A red wolf]]
The red wolf's appearance is typical of the genus ''Canis'', and is generally intermediate in size between the coyote and gray wolf, though some specimens may overlap in size with small gray wolves. A study of ''Canis'' morphometrics conducted in eastern North Carolina reported that red wolves are morphometrically distinct from coyotes and hybrids.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |title=Morphometrics of ''Canis'' taxa in eastern North Carolina |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=2014-08-22 |issn=0022-2372 |pages=855–861 |volume=95 |issue=4 |doi=10.1644/13-MAMM-A-202 |first1=Joseph W. |last1=Hinton |first2=Michael J. |last2=Chamberlain|doi-access=free }}</ref> Adults measure 136–165&nbsp;cm (53.5–65&nbsp;in) in length, comprising a tail of about 37&nbsp;cm (14.6&nbsp;in).<ref name=paradiso1972/><ref name=":0" /> Their weight ranges from 20 to 39&nbsp;kg (44–85&nbsp;lbs) with males averaging 29&nbsp;kg (64&nbsp;lbs) and females 25&nbsp;kg (55&nbsp;lbs).<ref name=":0" /> Its pelage is typically more reddish and sparsely furred than the coyote's and gray wolf's, though melanistic individuals do occur.<ref name=paradiso1972>{{cite journal |last1=Paradiso |first1=J.L. |last2=Nowak |first2=R.M. |year=1972 |title=''Canis rufus'' |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-022-01-0001.pdf |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=22 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.2307/3503948 |jstor=3503948 |s2cid=253917285 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416191724/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-022-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-16}}</ref> Its fur is generally tawny to grayish in color, with light markings around the lips and eyes.<ref name=woodward1980/> The red wolf has been compared by some authors to the [[greyhound]] in general form, owing to its relatively long and slender limbs. The ears are also proportionately larger than the coyote's and gray wolf's. The skull is typically narrow, with a long and slender [[Rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]], a small braincase and a well developed [[sagittal crest]]. Its [[cerebellum]] is unlike that of other ''Canis'' species, being closer in form to that of canids of the ''[[Vulpes]]'' and ''[[Urocyon]]'' [[genera]], thus indicating that the red wolf is one of the more [[plesiomorphic]] members of its genus.<ref name=paradiso1972 />

The red wolf is more sociable than the coyote, but less so than the gray wolf. It mates in January–February, with an average of 6–7&nbsp;pups being born in March, April, and May. It is monogamous, with both parents participating in the rearing of young.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |title=Space and habitat use by a Red Wolf pack and their pups during pup-rearing |journal=[[Journal of Wildlife Management]] |date=2010-01-01 |issn=1937-2817 |pages=55–58 |volume=74 |issue=1 |doi=10.2193/2008-583 |first1=Joseph W. |last1=Hinton |first2=Michael J. |last2=Chamberlain |bibcode=2010JWMan..74...55H |s2cid=43971629}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Helper effects on pup lifetime fitness in the cooperatively breeding red wolf (''Canis rufus'') |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences |date=2011-05-07 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=3061142 |pmid=20961897 |pages=1381–1389 |volume=278 |issue=1710 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2010.1921 |first1=Amanda M. |last1=Sparkman |first2=Jennifer |last2=Adams |first3=Arthur |last3=Beyer |first4=Todd D. |last4=Steury |first5=Lisette |last5=Waits |first6=Dennis L. |last6=Murray}}</ref> Denning sites include hollow tree trunks, along stream banks and the abandoned earths of other animals. By the age of six weeks, the pups distance themselves from the den,<ref name=":1" /> and reach full size at the age of one year, becoming [[sexual maturity|sexually mature]] two years later.<ref name=woodward1980 />

Using long-term data on red wolf individuals of known pedigree, it was found that [[inbreeding]] among first-degree relatives was rare.<ref name=Sparkman>{{cite journal |last1=Sparkman |first1=A.M. |last2=Adams |first2=J.R. |last3=Steury |first3=T.D. |last4=Waits |first4=L.P. |last5=Murray |first5=D.L. |date=July 2012 |title=Pack social dynamics and inbreeding avoidance in the cooperatively breeding red wolf |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=1186–1194 |doi=10.1093/beheco/ars099|doi-access=free |hdl=10.1093/beheco/ars099 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> A likely mechanism for avoidance of inbreeding is independent dispersal trajectories from the natal pack. Many of the young wolves spend time alone or in small non-breeding packs composed of unrelated individuals. The union of two unrelated individuals in a new home range is the predominant pattern of breeding pair formation.<ref name=Sparkman /> Inbreeding is avoided because it results in progeny with reduced fitness ([[inbreeding depression]]) that is predominantly caused by the [[Zygosity#Homozygosity|homozygous]] expression of recessive deleterious alleles.<ref name="pmid19834483">{{cite journal |author1=Charlesworth, D. |author2=Willis, J.H. |title=The genetics of inbreeding depression |journal=Nat. Rev. Genet. |volume=10 |issue=11 |pages=783–796 |year=2009 |pmid=19834483 |doi=10.1038/nrg2664 |s2cid=771357 }}</ref>

Prior to its extinction in the wild, the red wolf's diet consisted of rabbits, rodents, and [[nutria]] (an introduced species).<ref name=Shaw>{{cite thesis |author=Shaw, J. |year=1975 |title=Ecology, behavior and systematic of the red wolf (''Canis rufus'') |type=Ph.D. |publisher=Yale University |place=New Haven, CT}}</ref> In contrast, the red wolves from the restored population rely on [[white-tailed deer]], [[pig]], [[raccoon]], [[Oryzomys|rice rat]]s, [[muskrat]]s, nutria, rabbits and [[carrion]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title = Food Habits of Red Wolves during Pup-Rearing Season |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |date=2011-12-01 |issn=1528-7092 |pages=731–740 |volume=10 |issue=4 |doi=10.1656/058.010.0412 |first1=Justin A. |last1=Dellinger |first2=Brian L. |last2=Ortman |first3=Todd D. |last3=Steury |first4=Justin |last4=Bohling |first5=Lisette P. |last5=Waits|s2cid=32434436 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Diets of sympatric red wolves and coyotes in northeastern North Carolina |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=2013-10-15 |issn=0022-2372 |pages=1141–1148 |volume=94 |issue=5 |doi=10.1644/13-MAMM-A-109.1 |first1=Justin M. |last1= McVey |first2=David T. |last2=Cobb |first3=Roger A. |last3=Powell |first4=Michael K. |last4=Stoskopf |first5=Justin H. |last5=Bohling |first6=Lisette P. |last6=Waits |first7=Christopher E. |last7=Moorman |s2cid=43925119}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Canis_rufus/ | title=Canis rufus (Red wolf) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> White-tailed deer were largely absent from the last wild refuge of red wolves on the Gulf Coast between Texas and Louisiana (where specimens were trapped from the last wild population for captive breeding), which likely accounts for the discrepancy in their dietary habits listed here. Historical accounts of wolves in the southeast by early explorers such as [[William Hilton Jr|William Hilton]], who sailed along the Cape Fear River in what is now North Carolina in 1644, also note that they ate deer.<ref name="ref36">{{Cite journal |last=Powell |first=W.S. |year=1973 |title=Creatures of North Carolina from Roanoke Island to Purgatory Mountain |journal=North Carolina Historical Review |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=155–168 |jstor=23528936}}</ref>