More endangered red wolves will be released in the U.S. under a legal settlement

A female red wolf is shown in its habitat at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C. (Gerry Broome/AP)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to continue releasing red wolves into the wild in order to settle a lawsuit brought by conservation groups.

According to court filings, the USFWS committed on Wednesday to an eight-year plan to boost populations with captive-born animals in eastern North Carolina, the species' only remaining range. Just over 30 of the animals are estimated to be left in the wild, which is only a fraction of what the population was a decade ago.