This Land, Your Land

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the death of a red wolf found Monday in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare County.

Officials have not said how the wolf died, but they suspect someone is responsible for illegally killing it, the Virginian-Pilot said.

Two red wolves, each wearing a radio collar, were found dead in different parts of Hyde County in April.

The red wolf (Canis rufus), once considered extinct in the wild, is protected under the Endangered Species Act. The maximum criminal penalties for the unlawful taking of a red wolf are one year imprisonment and $100,000 fine per individual.

Contact Sandra Allred at (919) 856-4786 or Jay Eddy at (252) 216-8724 if you have pertinent information about any red wolf death.

Several organizations have combined to offer a reward of up to $10,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the deaths of two radio-collared red wolves that were found in Hyde County in April.

The red wolves, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act, were found dead on April 23 near Englehard in the eastern part of Hyde County and on April 27 near Scranton in the western part of Hyde County.

The maximum criminal penalties for the unlawful taking of a red wolf are one year imprisonment and $100,000 fine per individual animal.

The red wolf (Canis rufus) was declared extinct in the wild in 1980. By 1987, enough red wolves were bred in captivity to begin a restoration program at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, and today more than 100 red wolves roam their native habitats in five northeastern North Carolina counties.

The Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust, and Humane Society National Council member Cathy Kangas have contributed to the reward.

Anyone with information on the deaths of these red wolves or any other red wolves, past or future, should contact Special Agent Sandra Allred at (919) 856-4786, Wildlife Refuge Officer Chris Smith at (252) 926-4021 or North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Officer Robert Wayne at (252) 216-8225.