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NC Wildlife Officials Investigating Latest Red Wolf Death

A red wolf
Joan Lopez via Flickr/Creative Commons

Wildlife officials are looking into what is believed to be the illegal shooting death of a red wolf in eastern North Carolina. 

State and federal officials announced the investigation in a news release Friday.  They say the radio-collared red wolf was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound last month in Tyrrell County.  It's the third red wolf to die this year from a gunshot. 

The first two deaths happened in January and March.  Seven other red wolves have died of other various reasons ranging from natural causes to being hit by cars.

In 1987, the red wolf made history in eastern North Carolina, when four mating pairs were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

Federal wildlife officials say no one has come forward to claim responsibility for this most recent shooting death.  But, they believe the death is suspicious. 

In 1987, the red wolf made history in eastern North Carolina, when four mating pairs were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. It was the first species determined to be extinct in the wild to be reintroduced outside of captivity.

>>Read more about the controversy over the red wolf in the state: Red Wolves: A Future In Doubt (reported by WUNC's Dave DeWitt).

Sometimes red wolves are confused with coyotes. WUNC's Phoebe Judge talked with Kim Wheeler,  executive director the Red Wolf Coalition about that problem. Wheeler has been monitoring the health of red wolves in this state for years.

State wildlife officials maintain the only wild red wolf population in the eastern part of the state.  The latest statistics show that about 100 red wolves roam native habitats in five northeastern counties.

red wolf
Credit Southern Environmental Law Center
A map of the range of the red wolf in North Carolina.

Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
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