Natural World. Environment (HMT)

Read the text below. Match choices. There are three choices you do not need to use.

The Most Endangered Wolf in the World

1._______________

From 2002 to 2014, the wild red wolf population consistently numbered over 100 animals. But starting in 2012, the population began to decline due to actions taken by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). By 2015, the population had declined to between 50 and 75 animals, and by 2016 it had dropped to between 25 and 48 animals. It is widely believed that there are now fewer than 30 red wolves living in the wild. Scientists have warned that if current management practices continue, red wolves could once again be extinct in the wild by 2024.

2._______________

Throughout most of the recovery program’s history, shooting by hunters was the leading cause of red wolf deaths, a fact attributed to the similarity in appearance between coyotes and red wolves. Despite this, in 2012 the NCWRC approved a temporary rule allowing the hunting of coyotes at night using artificial lights on public and private lands throughout North Carolina, including in the recovery area. In 2013, the NCWRC adopted a permanent rule that allowed coyote hunting without a permit during the daytime and with a permit at nighttime in the recovery area. In response, in 2012 and 2013, AWI and others filed two lawsuits that successfully cancelled both these rules.

3. __________

The threat connected with gunshot mortality (deaths) soon became less important than the numerous threats related to the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS’s) own shifting red wolf management practices. In 2013, the recovery program was transferred from the jurisdiction of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) to the Ecological Services Program, 600 miles away from the recovery area.

4. __________

As a result, starting in 2014, the USFWS not only began to neglect its red wolf recovery and management duties, but also started issuing permits allowing landowners to kill red wolves on private land. In 2015, one of the animals killed was a female red wolf, known to be exhibiting denning behaviour, who had previously mothered a total of 16 pups through four separate litters.

5. __________

Given the small and declining number of red wolves, losing even one wolf has a huge influence on the species. The impacts are particularly dire when a mother wolf is lost, because it not only orphans her pups and likely leads to their deaths, but also eliminates the possibility for that particular wolf to contribute more litters to the population. Although red wolves tend to form pair-bonds for life, red wolves may interbreed or hybridize with coyotes, particularly when an adult is lost from a breeding pair close to the mating season.

The Most Endangered Wolf in the World

1._______________

From 2002 to 2014, the wild red wolf population consistently numbered over 100 animals. But starting in 2012, the population began to decline due to actions taken by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). By 2015, the population had declined to between 50 and 75 animals, and by 2016 it had dropped to between 25 and 48 animals. It is widely believed that there are now fewer than 30 red wolves living in the wild. Scientists have warned that if current management practices continue, red wolves could once again be extinct in the wild by 2024.

2._______________

Throughout most of the recovery program’s history, shooting by hunters was the leading cause of red wolf deaths, a fact attributed to the similarity in appearance between coyotes and red wolves. Despite this, in 2012 the NCWRC approved a temporary rule allowing the hunting of coyotes at night using artificial lights on public and private lands throughout North Carolina, including in the recovery area. In 2013, the NCWRC adopted a permanent rule that allowed coyote hunting without a permit during the daytime and with a permit at nighttime in the recovery area. In response, in 2012 and 2013, AWI and others filed two lawsuits that successfully cancelled both these rules.

3. __________

The threat connected with gunshot mortality (deaths) soon became less important than the numerous threats related to the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS’s) own shifting red wolf management practices. In 2013, the recovery program was transferred from the jurisdiction of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) to the Ecological Services Program, 600 miles away from the recovery area.

4. __________

As a result, starting in 2014, the USFWS not only began to neglect its red wolf recovery and management duties, but also started issuing permits allowing landowners to kill red wolves on private land. In 2015, one of the animals killed was a female red wolf, known to be exhibiting denning behaviour, who had previously mothered a total of 16 pups through four separate litters.

5. __________

Given the small and declining number of red wolves, losing even one wolf has a huge influence on the species. The impacts are particularly dire when a mother wolf is lost, because it not only orphans her pups and likely leads to their deaths, but also eliminates the possibility for that particular wolf to contribute more litters to the population. Although red wolves tend to form pair-bonds for life, red wolves may interbreed or hybridize with coyotes, particularly when an adult is lost from a breeding pair close to the mating season.

The Most Endangered Wolf in the World

1._______________

From 2002 to 2014, the wild red wolf population consistently numbered over 100 animals. But starting in 2012, the population began to decline due to actions taken by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). By 2015, the population had declined to between 50 and 75 animals, and by 2016 it had dropped to between 25 and 48 animals. It is widely believed that there are now fewer than 30 red wolves living in the wild. Scientists have warned that if current management practices continue, red wolves could once again be extinct in the wild by 2024.

2._______________

Throughout most of the recovery program’s history, shooting by hunters was the leading cause of red wolf deaths, a fact attributed to the similarity in appearance between coyotes and red wolves. Despite this, in 2012 the NCWRC approved a temporary rule allowing the hunting of coyotes at night using artificial lights on public and private lands throughout North Carolina, including in the recovery area. In 2013, the NCWRC adopted a permanent rule that allowed coyote hunting without a permit during the daytime and with a permit at nighttime in the recovery area. In response, in 2012 and 2013, AWI and others filed two lawsuits that successfully cancelled both these rules.

3. __________

The threat connected with gunshot mortality (deaths) soon became less important than the numerous threats related to the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS’s) own shifting red wolf management practices. In 2013, the recovery program was transferred from the jurisdiction of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) to the Ecological Services Program, 600 miles away from the recovery area.

4. __________

As a result, starting in 2014, the USFWS not only began to neglect its red wolf recovery and management duties, but also started issuing permits allowing landowners to kill red wolves on private land. In 2015, one of the animals killed was a female red wolf, known to be exhibiting denning behaviour, who had previously mothered a total of 16 pups through four separate litters.

5. __________

Given the small and declining number of red wolves, losing even one wolf has a huge influence on the species. The impacts are particularly dire when a mother wolf is lost, because it not only orphans her pups and likely leads to their deaths, but also eliminates the possibility for that particular wolf to contribute more litters to the population. Although red wolves tend to form pair-bonds for life, red wolves may interbreed or hybridize with coyotes, particularly when an adult is lost from a breeding pair close to the mating season.