Texas-Louisiana Canid Project

08/13/2026

New updates and pictures available on the USFWS Red Wolf Recovery Program website! Link provided in the comments.

08/10/2026

This map is from an issue of the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine's May 1990 issue. It shows the ranges of the red wolf at different points in time, as well as one proposed site where hybridization between red wolves and coyotes first occurred. Our study focuses primarily on the region highlighted in red, where red wolves survived up until their eradication in the wild and where we now see coyotes with the highest percentage of red wolf genetic inheritance!

07/29/2026

Here's a look at some more amazing coyote howls! Chorus howls like this one begin with an initial rally howl by one individual before the rest of the pack joins in, creating the auditory illusion of a large, fearsome pack.

07/19/2026

USFWS's Red Wolf Recovery Program recently announced that four litters of red wolves have been born within the Eastern North Carolina Red Wolf Population, and that 12 to 16 pups have survived the first couple months of life and are thriving thanks to ongoing conservation programs. Less than two dozen red wolves remain in the United States in the wild, so this new pack of pups represent the potential for an impressive recovery effort!



Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (2024). Red wolf recovery program | U.S. fish & wildlife service. In www.fws.gov. https://www.fws.gov/project/red-wolf-recovery-program
Photo Credit: Red Wolf 2359F’s pups, USFWS, Public Domain, https://www.fws.gov/media/red-wolf-2359fs-pups

07/15/2026

Red Wolf Recovery Program 2025-2026 Release Plan available NOW...click HERE! Canis rufus Taxon: Mammal Range: Eastern North Carolina

07/14/2026

Can you spot any differences between these coyotes?

The first photo shows an individual seen in California, while the second shows a pair seen by our team in Galveston. Recent research done by the Wolf Conservation Center found that the population of coyotes we're studying in Louisiana and Texas are taller and lankier than other coyote populations with large, pointed ears indicative of their red wolf ancestry. It's likely that their long legs improve movement in the muddy and unstable coastal marshes and floodplains.



Credit:“Wolf Conservation Center Study Finds Coastal Coyotes Preserve Red Wolf Ancestry Through Survival and Adaptation.” Wolf Conservation Center, 11 Feb. 2026, https://nywolf.org/2026/02/wolf-conservation-center-study-finds-coastal-coyotes-preserve-red-wolf-ancestry-through-survival-and-adaptation/. Accessed 14 July 2026.

07/08/2026

We captured this great footage from one of our trail cameras in SWLA a couple of years ago. Coyote family units like this one usually consist of a breeding pair and their current year's pups, sometimes with yearlings from the previous litter that assist their parents in feeding and protecting pups. Coyotes are highly social, playful animals with strict but tight-knit social hierarchies with affection displayed through familial care, mutual grooming, physical contact, and play. We love to see healthy, happy family units like this!

07/02/2026

Though this project was founded only a few years ago, the species we’re studying have been of interest to researchers for decades! These photos show early biogenetic research done on coyotes in SWLA by USFWS biologists. From 1990-1991, federal biologist Chris Lucash and his team studied coyotes in a Cameron Parish habitat that had previously supported Louisiana's red wolves up until their eradication in the early 1970s. A long-time red wolf conservationist, Chris Lucash's field knowledge and determined conservation efforts informed not only red wolf reintroduction efforts, but species reintroduction programs across the country.

biology

06/30/2026

Sharing some of the non-coyote animals we've seen on our trail cameras recently! Though we're only studying canid species, we're happy to see any visitors!

06/24/2026