How to Help Red Wolves

How can you help red wolves?

Critically endangered red wolves need the help of wolf advocates more than ever nowadays. With trouble coming from government noncooperation, public misunderstandings, and saboteurs who wish to undermine programs that are in place to help them, it is extremely important that as many people as possible do their part to help Canis rufus.

Wolf Header Photo: United States Fish and Wildlife Service

DID YOU KNOW:

ANYONE can help red wolves, as long as they truly have a desire to learn and share what they know.

HOW TO HELP RED WOLVES

A Ten-Step Guide

If you wish to help the red wolf cause, there are a number of things you can do. This guide gives examples, sources, and other important information on how you can support the red wolf cause in the most efficient and constructive ways possible. Wolf activism isn't an easy task, but it is an extremely rewarding in that you get to help creatures who would likely be doomed to extinction without the action of those who care.

To navigate this guide, simply scroll down and click on each title. If you have questions, leave them on our Facebook page.

STEP ONE: YOU WILL NEED

Wolf activism requires advocates to have three critical attributes:

A Positive Attitude: Many times you will run into situations that are very sad, or mentally exhausting, such as when you see an animal in distress or learn that an unfavorable law has passed. In these tough times it is critical that you keep a positive attitude about things, because doubt and fear can quickly lower your productivity. If a person perseveres through the problem at hand, they will soon find that they can achieve much more for wolves than they thought!

Ingenuity: An ability to think outside the box is an extremely important part of wolf activism. Without creative solutions to conservation and public relations problems, programs such as the Red Wolf Recovery Program may not have been as successful as they have been. It takes imagination to help red wolves and other canids, as keeping on with the status quo rarely ever gets the important things done.

Passion: Perhaps the most important attribute of a wolf advocate is their passion for what they do. Passion is what keeps people fighting despite all odds, it is what shows the opposition that wolf advocates mean business, and it is what keeps people going despite the occasional loss or misfortune. Without the enthusiasm of advocates, researchers, and biologists, many of the successes of the red wolf past may never have come to be.

STEP TWO: GATHER INFORMATION

From the late 1960's to more recent years, red wolf recovery efforts have been gradually increasing. For the program to continue to operate successfully, it is important that there are many people who are knowledgeable about red wolves to stand behind it. To gain this important knowledge, browse through some of the most recommended sources of information, such as those listed below.

Some good sources of information include:

T. Delene Beeland's nonfiction book, The Secret World of Red Wolves, gives numerous first-hand excerpts from various parts of red wolf conservation. If you wish to get a closer look at what the world around these critically endangered canids is like, as well as learn a little about the people who work to keep their population stable, this is a highly recommendable source.
The Red Wolf Coalition's website is a metaphorical gold mine of information regarding all aspects of red wolves, red wolf conservation, and much more. Here you can find facts about the history, biology, behaviors, and more of Canis rufus, and find multiple ways to help the cause through the RWC.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's website, specifically the portion relating to red wolves, gives important background information about the species as well as up-to-date info on the current state of the canid population. You can monitor the status of red wolf conservation by keeping an eye on this website.

STEP THREE: SPREAD THE WORD

Exploring the information sources listed in the previous step can eventually lead a person to know a lot about red wolves and red wolf restoration. Still, it is important to remember that there will always be people who care about red wolves but do not know much about them, and others who are oblivious to the plight of the red wolf in the first place. Thus, it is important to share as much information with others as possible to ensure that there is a large, knowledgeable base of supportive red wolf advocates who are willing to work for positive change.

To educate others about red wolves:

Start conversations about red wolves with friends and others who care about the environment, and mention a few true facts and statistics if you can.
Share the information sources listed in the previous step with others. Doing so will allow them to learn at their own pace and convenience, thus making them feel enthusiastic rather than rushed.
Discuss the material in each source with other people in a relaxed setting. This allows people to ask questions and share their own ideas and opinions without feeling like they are being quizzed or judged for any errors in their knowledge.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you or another person are unsure about something related to red wolves that is not explained in any of the previous sources, contact the Red Wolf Coalition or one of the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan participant locations. They will be glad to help you understand more about red wolves.

STEP FOUR: FIND OTHER ADVOCATES

By spreading the word about red wolves, you will inevitably run into or create other red wolf advocates. This is a fantastic opportunity to work together to have a greater impact on the red wolf situation. While working alone can get things done, working together ensures that red wolf advocates have a louder voice in red wolf recovery. Teamwork also ensures that the sometimes stressful workload of fighting for red wolves is shared, and that if there is a problem, more people can contribute to a viable solution. You can find many red wolf advocates on the Red Wolf Coalition's Facebook page.

STEP FIVE: FIGHT FOR CHANGE

Promoting and supporting positive changes for red wolves and red wolf recovery is the most important part of red wolf advocacy. Without the voice of the people, the program has very little to stand on. To help promote red wolf conservation, there are a number of things you can do.

How to promote red wolves:

Leave polite, yet assertive (not aggressive) comments on government social media pages showing support for red wolf conservation.
If you can, help out with any of the causes the Red Wolf Coalition announces on it's social media pages.
Sign legitimate petitions supporting red wolf restoration. There are plenty of fake petitions out there, so fact checking is always a must in order to verify legitimacy.
Write a letter, leave a phone message, or send an email to those who work for either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, which are the organizations that oversee red wolf recovery efforts. All messages should clearly exhibit support for red wolf recovery.

STEP SIX: STAY CLASSY

Often in the course of being a red wolf advocate, one comes across people (or groups of people) who oppose red wolf restoration. Many times these encounters result in heated arguments with insults and other unpleasant language being thrown back and forth. Such phenomenon is not helpful in the least to the red wolf situation, and only serves to make wolf advocates seem like angry, intolerant people (even if they didn't start the conflict in the first place).

To avoid making the problem worse while trying to fix it, try following these steps:

Pause, and take a deep breath. The world isn't going to end if you simply walk away from a debate. The person on the other end does not singlehandedly control the red wolf's fate, so there is no need for you to waste your time or energy on them.
Be the bigger person and remain civil and polite throughout the conversation. The other person may be slinging profanity and threats at you, but ignoring their ignorance simply accentuates their foolishness. Don't sink to their level.
Use facts and statistics to back up your argument. No one can argue with science, and if they do, they will look like a fool.
If things get too heated, report them or tell the authorities. Threats and harassment should be handled by those who's job it is to deal with these situations. Do not take the rules into your own hands.
Avoid these types of conflicts if possible.

STEP SEVEN: SUPPORT RED WOLF ORGANIZATIONS

There are numerous nonprofit and other organizations working to help red wolves. Such organizations help fund important parts of the recovery effort, spread news and information about red wolves, and generally promote the restoration of Canis rufus on the whole. Such tasks are not done easily, or for free, and as a result these organizations must ask for donations from the public to continue their efforts. For those who wish to donate to help red wolf organizations, notable potential donation recipients are listed below in order of importance:

The Red Wolf Coalition
Red Wolf Species Survival Plan participants

STEP EIGHT: STAY UP TO DATE

There are always important and often urgent developments in the world of red wolf conservation. It is critical that advocates follow these alerts closely to avoid missing opportunities, or making errors in judgement. To stay up to speed on red wolf restoration, there are a number of reliable and legitimate news sources and feeds that you can check. Some of the best are listed here.

Sources of news:

The Red Wolf Coalition's Facebook page.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service's Red Wolf Recovery Program website and social media.
The Red Wolf Review Facebook page.

STEP NINE: BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONS

There is a definite need for creativity in the realm of red wolf advocacy, as there are a number of important problems that need "outside-the-box" solutions. If you can think of a feasible solution to any of the following problems, please let anyone at the Red Wolf Coalition or Red Wolf Review know. We would love to hear your ideas!

Conservation is a tough task, often requiring biologists to traverse tough terrain and dense underbrush. If there were an efficient and cost-effective way to easily traverse these areas without harming or disturbing the environment, it would make conservation efforts much, much easier for those directly in contact with red wolves.
Red wolves are tracked with radio VHF (Very-High-Frequency) collars or (occasionally) GPS (Global Positioning System) collars. While these collars allow for noninvasive studies of red wolf behavior, they also have issues with staying on for as long as possible, as they run on batteries which eventually drain. If there were a sustainable, economic solution to this problem, it would make tracking much safer for wolves and biologists.
In order to be given vaccines and medical/research treatment, red wolves are often trapped with humane leg hold traps, which are much safer than traps used for hunting. These traps are not perfect, however, and a wolf caught in a leg hold may still manage to hurt itself. If there were an alternative to leg hold traps that could ensure even more safety of wolves while not costing lots of money, it would help research efforts greatly.
Local residents of the red wolf recovery effort may have significantly different views about red wolf recovery. Some support the effort, some remain neutral, and still others are firmly against it. As the people who are the most directly affected by recovery efforts, they of course deserve the most say. However it is important that there is a compromise between recovery and fairness to the local population in the red wolf situation. More information can be found in chapter seven of T. Delene Beeland's book The Secret World of Red Wolves.

STEP TEN: NEVER GIVE UP!

If you follow the steps listed in this guide, you will be well on your way to making a huge positive difference for red wolves! The going will get tough, and in many cases, it already is, but with enough perseverance and creativity, there is nothing that wolf advocates cannot accomplish. There is a lot of work to do, but we can do it!

Thank you for reading this guide!