Arkansas State University’s mascot, the Red Wolves, face critical endangerment in the wild. Red Wolves for Red Wolves is trying to change that. 

The club, which consists of 83 student members,  focuses on conservation of the American red wolf through outreach and education. Not all members are currently active. 

Alex Parette, a senior biological sciences major from Woodlawn, Arkansas, serves as an active member of the club. 

“With our club, our biggest goal is outreach about red wolves because people don’t know anything about them or people don’t even know they exist,” Parette said. 

Chris Thigpen, adviser for the club and instructor of biology, said many people on campus don’t know the A-State mascot is based on a real wolf. 

“They think it’s just our mascot,” Thigpen said. “They’re a real animal.” 

Parette said many people do not know about red wolves since there are so few of them. According to Champions for Wildlife, the American red wolf is the most endangered wild animal in the United States. It is also the most endangered wolf worldwide. 

“There are more Red Wolves on the A-State football team than there are living in the wild,” Thigpen wrote on the club’s Instagram page last week. 

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an estimated 23-25 red wolves exist in the wild and 269 live in captivity. 

Thigpen said many people assume red wolves are vicious predators. However, they tend to be harmless and helpful to the ecosystem. 

“They’re generally about the size of a German Shepherd. So, they’re not coyotes and they’re not gray wolves. A lot of people think since they’re wolves, they’re all big and bad. They’re really not. They’re super skittish, like, they see a person, they smell a person, they take off,” Thigpen said. 

Red wolves also prove to be beneficial to their environment. 

Lilliana Newton, a senior animal science major from Little Rock, serves as president of the club. 

“They do a lot for the ecosystem. Wolves in general keep the deer population down, and keeping the deer population down keeps weeds from growing everywhere,” Newton said. “Everything’s connected.” 

The club not only focuses on education, but also conservation on the American red wolf. 

“I’ve always been interested in conservation and endangered species especially. It kind of feels really good to be a big part, or just a small part, of what’s helping to bring back this population,” Parette said. 

Thigpen said students should care about this cause since the red wolf is A-State’s mascot. 

“It’d be a shame for us to pick this mascot and work with the Fish and Wildlife to curate these specimens and take care of them and conserve them and then really just do the bare minimum and then see that species go extinct. Which, it could happen,” Thigpen said. 

The club plans to have fundraising efforts for American red wolf conservation over the course of this academic year. 

“​​This is our mascot,” Thigpen said, “We should want to take care of it.”

For more information about the club and how to get involved, email chthigpen@astate.edu. 

Follow Red Wolves for Red Wolves on Instagram @astatereforrw and on Facebook, Red Wolves for Red Wolves at Arkansas State University. 

Categories: Life