Red wolf biologists’ jobs vary greatly from day to day and person to person. They include studying wolves in the wild, studying wolves in captivity, and teaching people about red wolves and problem-solving with citizens who are concerned about wolves being reintroduced into the wild.

Working with wild wolves means going out into the field, usually to track wolves from a plane or on foot. Some wildlife biologists fly over 550,000 acres two or three times a week to track wolves. They are able to track the wolves because the wolves are wearing radio collars that emit signals revealing their location. If the wolf hasn’t moved for over six hours the signal changes to an alert that warns biologists the wolf may have died.

The wolves are wearing the collars because biologists trap the pups to put on the collars. At the same time, the scientists give them shots, take blood samples for testing, and measure and weigh them. Wildlife biologists periodically tranquilize adult wolves to gather data on weight, age, length, and general health.

Sometimes wildlife biologists just observe the wolves while carefully taking notes. They study animal behavior to understand how animals communicate with each other and interact with their environment. Understanding red wolves’ typical behavior helps scientists protect the wolves and increase their populations.