(Raleigh News Observer) Hunters will be allowed to shoot coyotes after dark starting Aug. 1 under a new state rule opposed by conservationists who say it will imperil the endangered red wolf.
Red wolf conservationists not only oppose the night-hunting rule but question its speedy implementation.
The prospect of hunters bagging coyotes at night in North Carolina has drawn national attention because coyotes are easily mistaken for young red wolves, a federally listed endangered species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has worked for 25 years to help red wolves gain a shaky foothold in the wild, and North Carolina is the only place where they roam free.
Somewhere between 90 and 110 wolves live in five northeastern counties.
Young red wolves are easily mistaken for coyotes even in the light of day. Fatal cases of mistaken identity are expected to rise when hunters go after coyotes in the dark.
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