On a recent night, 75 adventurers huddled at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (North Carolina, USA) and looked to the starry winter sky. Then they let out primal wails, hoping red wolves would answer from somewhere in the darkness.

The primitive call and response, dubbed "howling safari's", have become popular now that the highly endangered animals over the past three decades have re-populated in eastern North Carolina.

The area is the only place in the world where the red wolf exists.

Red wolves were once common in the region but were killed as nuisances until they were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. A few years earlier, the few remaining wolves had been trapped and placed into a captive breeding program. Today, between 100 and 120 red wolves, descendants of the breeding program wolves, range across North Carolina. The goal is to reach about 220 animals in the wild.

The animals still face challenges from humans. The Navy wants to convert 30,000 acres in Washington and Beaufort counties into a runway where jets can simulate night landings on aircraft carriers. Environmentalists say the landing strip, and its noise, would harm wildlife and pose a severe risk of bird/aircraft collisions.

The Navy have acknowledged that red wolves might traverse the airstrip site. The Navy is doing an in-depth environmental study. The study will take into account the latest information about wolves near the proposed runway.