Data from: Substantial red wolf genetic ancestry persists in wild canids of southwestern Louisiana

Concerns over red wolf (Canis rufus) extinction caused by hybridization
with coyotes (C. latrans) led to the capture and removal of remnant wild
wolves from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, USA, during the
1970s. Here we show that despite decades of unmitigated hybridization, and
declaration of endangered red wolves as functionally extinct in the wild,
red wolf mitochondrial or nuclear DNA ancestry persists in ~55% of
contemporary wild canids sampled in southwestern Louisiana. Surprisingly,
one individual had 78–100% red wolf ancestry, which is within the range
for 75% red wolf, red wolf backcross, or putative red wolf, depending on
estimation method. Our findings bolster support for designation of red
wolves as a distinct species, demonstrate a critical need for the United
States Government to consider adopting an existing but unimplemented
hybrid policy, and suggest that immediate reassessment of canid management
and taxonomic designation in southwestern Louisiana may be warranted.