Red wolves nearing extinction — only 40 left in the wild

Only 40 endangered red wolves remain in the wild in the U.S., and the population could go extinct within eight years, according to a report recently released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Time is running out for red wolves,” said Collette Adkins, a biologist and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We need to move fast if we’re going to keep them from disappearing forever.”

Once a common sight across the entire southeastern U.S., the red wolf was listed as endangered in 1967 and first declared extinct in the wild in 1980, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service…