Preserving the Legacy of the American Red Wolf with ‘Ghost Genes’

The American red wolf, a critically endangered species, could find salvation in its ‘ghost genes’. Conservationists are exploring innovative ways to restore the genetic diversity of these wolves, long considered a conservationist legend. Historically, these small, cinnamon-colored mammals roamed the American Southeast, playing an integral role in Gulf Coast ecosystems by preying on deer and small wildlife. However, early European settlers viewed wolves as adversaries, leading to federal programs incentivizing their extermination.

By the mid-20th century, red wolves faced near elimination, prompting a need to save this species from extinction. Efforts in the 1970s saw the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rounding up canids, including coyotes, dogs, and red wolves. From these, they selectively bred those with the most red wolf-like traits to create a founder population of fourteen wolves. Today, these fourteen are ancestors of all captive American red wolves, of which only a few hundred exist, with some living wild in North Carolina.

“By the mid-1900s, red wolves had been pretty effectively eliminated from the landscape on a very rapid decline.”

Due to a limited founder population, the genetic diversity of red wolves is constrained. This is where Bridgett vonHoldt’s work becomes vital. Interviewed by Short Wave host Emily Kwong, vonHoldt discusses the initiative to recover red wolf diversity using ‘ghost genetics’. They explore topics like gene dictionaries, the unconventional promise of analyzing samples such as feces, and how an ordinary photo of a Texas coyote initiated this journey.

The podcast hosted by NPR explores these themes in depth. The episode production included work by Hannah Chinn, showrunner Rebecca Ramirez, fact-checking by Tyler Jones, audio engineering by Robert Rodriguez, under the leadership of senior director Beth Donovan and Collin Campbell, senior vice president of podcasting strategy at NPR.

For more captivating stories and insights on conservation, you can listen to Short Wave episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Support NPR by joining Short Wave+ for sponsor-free listening at plus.npr.org/shortwave.