Gray (Canis lupus) and red (Canis rufus) wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act. But these canid species interbreed with coyotes (Canis latrans), a widespread species still considered vermin in many states. This has an effect on the way that the two endangered species are viewed, and sometimes managed.
Status of Wolves Under the Endangered Species Act
The gray wolf is protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, with some subspecies differences. The southeast Alaska subspecies (Canis lupus ligoni), which is stable, is not listed. Mexican gray wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) being reintroduced in the Southwest and reintroduced/recolonizing wolves in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana are listed as Experimental, Non-Essential. Under this special endangered species list status the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) can remove animals that prey on livestock or otherwise become problematic.
Gray wolves are listed as Threatened in Minnesota where populations have recovered. This is a step down from endangered but still leaves protections in place. The red wolf is listed as Endangered with a small, reintroduced population in Tennessee and North Carolina being managed as experimental, non–essential.
The Endangered Species Act and Wolf Coyote Hybrids
The Endangered Species Act tends to be well supported when iconic animals like the bald eagle are listed. But when controversial predators like wolves are put on the endangered species list there is a less general support. The hybridization of coyotes and wolves adds complexity to this issue. For example, there have been several attempts to have the red wolf removed from the endangered species list based on the premise that the red wolf is a coyote – gray wolf hybrid. These petitions failed due to lack of scientific evidence.
In Massachusetts when a wild wolf was killed, genetic testing was required to prove it was a wolf and not the more common coyote hybrid. In this area, one third of the coyotes studied had eastern wolf haplotypes (a group of genes inherited together from one parent). Once it was determined to be a wolf, further investigation into the shooting was needed. Had it been a coyote or hybrid, there would have been no need, as the coyote is not protected.
What is important to understand is that all of the canidae – red, gray and eastern wolves, as well as coyotes, share some genetic similarity and all of them can interbreed. Different geneticists view the variations differently. Some consider the eastern wolf (Canis lycaon) and the red wolf to be one species. Others consider the eastern wolf to be a subspecies of the gray wolf, calling them Canis lupis lycaon.
Protecting Wild Canids May Require a Different Approach
Wolves are already being protected at varying levels on the endangered species list, with some experimental, non-essential populations and some endangered populations of both red and gray wolves. The gray wolves are further divided with one unprotected and one threatened population. Population level management may be the most logical method of dealing with wolf protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The coyote would seem to create the biggest problem in terms of wild canidae management. With a rapidly growing population, many feel this species needs to be controlled. Recent data, however, indicate that overzealous attempts to manage coyote populations increase reproductive efforts and hybridization.
In Yellowstone National Park, the reintroduction of gray wolves resulted in a smaller coyote population. Thus it might be more logical to focus on habitat protection and limiting lethal control of predator species such as wolves. In this way, natural controls over the coyote help control its population.
There are no simple solutions to the canidae conundrum in the North America. The human influence over these species makes it impossible to determine what shape the various species may have taken. Whether one accepts four species – coyote, red, gray and eastern wolf – or takes the minimalist approach of two species – coyote and wolf, the bigger issue remains finding a way to best utilize the Endangered Species Act to ensure their long term survival.
Dawn M. Smith - A vet nurse, Dawn has worked in wildlife rehabilitation and conservation around the world in addition to her veterinary hospital ...
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