Red wolves usually eat White-tail deer, raccoons, rabbits, nutria and smaller rodents. They also eat carrion, and seasonally rely on insects, berries, and other plants.
The red wolves help keep the numbers of prey like deer in check. By doing this it makes it less likely that the smaller prey populations with bloom out of control and consume all the nutrients in their habitat. The red wolves' preference for nuisance prey helps reduce damage done to crops and other human activities, although there has been no study done on this to prove it.