Tracking what's alive on Earth and what affects it.
Humans, now
On the wall: 1,000 or fewer left in the wild
Red wolf
at least21
At least this many
August 2026
Canis rufus
Eastern North Carolina, USA (Alligator River and Pocosin Lakes refuges and nearby private land)
Counted August 2026, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
At least 21 red wolves were known alive in the wild in August 2026, a minimum and not a total, as counted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Numbers are so low that red wolves have trouble finding unrelated mates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says.
How it was counted
The number is a tally of wild red wolves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service knows to be alive (it lists them as known or collared), not an estimate, and the Service gives no range. It covers the whole wild population, adults and subadults, as of August 2026; that year's pups are counted separately.
A minimum, not an estimate: at least 21 wild red wolves were known alive in August 2026 (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists them as known or collared), and the true total may be higher.
Earlier figures
- 22 in June 2026: the previous count. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Red Wolf Recovery Program.
What moves it
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service names deaths caused by people (gunshots and vehicle strikes) and breeding with coyotes as pressures on the red wolf. It also says numbers are so low that unrelated mates are hard to find.
- gunshots and vehicle strikes.
Human-caused mortality (e.g., gunshots, vehicle strikes) has been the leading cause of this decline.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Red Wolf Recovery Program. - hybridisation with coyotes.
Hybridization with coyotes, which is exacerbated by
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Red Wolf Recovery Program. - numbers so low that unrelated mates are hard to find.
Due to the low population numbers, finding unrelated mates is challenging
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Red Wolf Recovery Program.
Who is helping
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the SAFE American Red Wolf programme of AZA zoos and aquariums breed red wolves in captivity (295 in SAFE facilities, August 2026), and the Service says that breeding kept the species from dying out. Releases helped the wild population reach 120 in 2012, and zoo-born pups have been placed in a wild litter.
The next count
No date is known for the next count as of 12 November 2026. The schedule is irregular (program updates several times a year).
Sources
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Red Wolf Recovery Program Last checked 12 November 2026.
What changed
- 12 November 2026 Added to Live Species, on the wall (1,000 or fewer): At least 21 (At least this many, August 2026).
Next on the wall
The letter
The letter comes once a month, on the first Thursday. It gives what changed on Live Species, one animal up close and the humans figure for contrast.