The United States Fish and Wildlife Service decided to halt reintroductions of red wolves into the wild due to the need for more research and examination of the population.

The Service has reintroduced a population of red wolves spanning three decades and five eastern North Carolina counties — Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington.

“The Wildlife Management Institute’s review identified a number of areas where we have been successful, a number of areas that need improvement, and highlighted a number of uncertainties and serious challenges for the ultimate recovery of the red wolf,” Cindy Dohner, southeast regional director for the Service, said in a press release.

“As we’ve said before, we recognize too that there were misunderstandings. … And we did not always meet the expectations we set. Now, we need to do a thorough and deliberate evaluation of the red wolf recovery program.”

Tom MacKenzie, chief of media relations for the Service’s southeast region, said the decision means no more wolves will be brought from captivity to be introduced into the wild, but the existing population of wolves already in the wild in eastern N.C. will not be removed.

“We are not removing them from the landscape,” he said. “Human handling is bad for wild animals.”

There are 90 to 110 red wolves in the wild in the eastern part of the state as well as about 190 more in a captivity population.

MacKenzie said one of the issues that needs more research is the red wolves’ mating with coyotes and the hybridization of the species as a result.

“It’s another step in the process and it’s a very serious step,” he said. “We realized as we made those decisions, it’s complicated.”

The Service is also trying to do further research on techniques that will enable the red wolves to cohabitate but not mate with the coyotes. One of those techniques is called the placeholder theory, which means the coyotes are sterilized but continue to defend the territory and create a buffer for the red wolves to live, MacKenzie said.

According to the press release, the organization hopes to finish its review of the situation by the end of the year, although the process could take longer. It also wants to implement a stakeholder plan where a group meets regularly to assess the situation and address concerns from the communities where the wolves live.

“Some landowners don’t want red wolves there,” MacKenzie said. “We value their rights and we respect their desire when they say, ‘I want this wolf off my property.’”

He said the Service has received positive and negative feedback about its decision to stop the reintroductions.

“There will likely be some who will suggest we are walking away from recovery efforts for the red wolf and simultaneously there will be others who might say we’re holding on too tight,” Dohner said in the press release.

“We appreciate the patience of the local landowners and the people who live in North Carolina and support the red wolf,” MacKenzie said. “We also understand those with concerns and we’re trying address those concerns as well as do what were supposed to do under the Endangered Species Act.”