Meet the coywolf

[pawnee]

A newly emerging species is behind the brazen attacks in Durham

Aug 15, 2009 04:30 AM
Carola Vyhnak
Urban Affairs Reporter

Is it a coyote? Is it a wolf?

Yes and yes. It's a "coywolf."

The predators that are plaguing Durham Region and showing up in urban areas appear to be an emerging species resulting from wolves and coyotes interbreeding.

The larger, highly adaptable animals "have the wolf characteristics of pack hunting and aggression and the coyote characteristics of lack of fear of human-developed areas," says Trent University geneticist Bradley White, who's been studying the hybrids for 12 years.

We're seeing "evolution in action," he says.

But that combination of genetic material from both species has spelled trouble for farmers, who are losing a growing number of livestock to predators.

They report attacks by animals that are bigger, bolder and smarter than regular coyotes. They say hunting in packs to prey on sheep and cattle in broad daylight is becoming a common behaviour.

Durham Region farmers have suffered the most damage to livestock in the province. Last year the food and agriculture ministry paid out a total compensation of $168,000 in the region for 545 dead or injured animals.

Commonly called eastern coyotes, the creatures are actually a mixture of western coyote and eastern wolf that comes from a constantly evolving gene pool, says White, chair and professor of biology in Peterborough.

Going back 100 years, deforestation, wolf control programs and changing habitat, ecosystems and prey conspired to drive down the wolf population. Meanwhile, the number of coyotes – whose original range was in western North America – grew, thanks to their ability to adapt and reproduce with ease. The two species started to interbreed, White explains.

"In many ways, this animal is a creation of human impact on the planet," says White.

Although the coywolf hybrid has only recently been verified through genetic research, White believes they started appearing in southern Algonquin Park back in the 1920s.

Colleague Paul Wilson, a wildlife genetics specialist, says the genetic gumbo from which coywolves emerge produces some that are more wolf-like, while others have more coyote characteristics. But they're definitely bigger.

"Some of these are 80-pound animals, double the size of a typical coyote that used to be 40 pounds."

But there's no cause for alarm, says John Pisapio, a wildlife biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is studying the role of coyotes and wolves in the ecosystem.

Hybrids may be larger but there's no evidence the population as a whole is more aggressive or prone to aberrant behaviour, he says.

He agrees predation on livestock is a concern – they do kill sheep and smaller animals – but insists attacks on cattle are unusual.

"As a biologist I find it hard to explain how a coyote brings down a 900-pound steer."

In some cases, coyotes might just be feeding on an animal that died from other causes, he says.

The population growth is a natural upswing following a mange epidemic that wiped out big numbers eight or nine years ago, he adds.

Pisapio says instances of fearlessness or brazen attacks are usually the result of coyotes that have come to associate food with people and lose their natural fear of humans.

That belief is echoed by Johnny, "The Critter Gitter," who didn't want his last name used because people don't like that he kills problem wildlife for a living.

"I kill coyotes. I don't sugarcoat it," he says.

But he feels sympathy for them.

"Humans are to blame for making monsters of them," he says. Coyotes are attracted by pet food and garbage left lying around in urban areas, and deadstock on farms.

They're not all bad and often get the blame when dogs kill livestock, he says. Johnny also doubts they're making a regular meal of cattle. During the 30 years he's worked in the province, he's seen only a few cases of "large, healthy animals taken down by coyotes."

But as coywolves become more urbanized and their relationship with people continues to evolve, city dwellers can expect problems, says White, suggesting a control program may be needed at some point.

"They will clearly bump into human activities, and there will be pets eaten in Rouge Valley."

http://www.thestar.com/article/681632

[Wolves159]

that is really weird ive never heard of them

[Blightwolf]

The coywolf is a term used to refer to hybrids between a Coyote (Canis latrans) and the Grey wolf (Canis lupus) or the Red wolf (Canis rufus). Wolves and coyotes can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, a fact which calls into question their status as two separate species. However breeding experiments in Germany with poodles and coyotes, as well as with wolves, jackals and later on with the resulting dog-coyote hybrids showed a decrease in fertility and significant communication problems as well as an increase of genetic diseases after three generations of interbeeding between the hybrids, unlike with wolfdogs. Therefore it was concluded, that domestic dogs and greywolves are the same species and that the coyote is a separate species from both. The offspring is generally intermediate in size to both parents, being larger than a pure coyote, but smaller than a pure wolf. A study showed that of 100 coyotes collected in Maine, 22 had half or more wolf ancestry, and one was 89 percent wolf. A theory has been proposed that the large eastern coyotes in Canada are actually hybrids of the smaller western coyotes and wolves that met and mated decades ago as the coyotes moved toward New England from their earlier western ranges. The Red Wolf is thought by certain scientists to be in fact a wolf/coyote hybrid rather than a unique species. Strong evidence for hybridization was found through genetic testing which showed that red wolves have only 5% of their alleles unique from either grey wolves or coyotes. Genetic distance calculations have indicated that red wolves are intermediate between coyotes and grey wolves, and that they bear great similarity to wolf/coyote hybrids in southern Quebec and Minnesota. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA showed that existing Red Wolf populations are predominantly coyote in origin.[4] Researchers in the Northeast and Canada say the population of coywolf hybrids is growing in the Northeast region.

I think this is an interesting combination, they look beautiful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Redwolf.jpg Personally, I would probably mistake coywolfs as real wolves or wolf-dogs if I didn't know any better.

[Songdog]

....=D

Yes and yes. Or neither, depending on who you ask ^^ I've always been big on studying coyotes and coywolves (I had to do the research for CA anyway) I first got into coywolves three or four years ago when I wrote a story with them (which is what first got me into coyotes) Coyotes and coywolves really are an under-represented part of nature. People do not realize how intelligent and adaptive coyotes can be, and when those genes are mixed with a wolf's strength and stronger pack-mentality, the result is something quite remarkable. The coywolf is almost a "superior" species of the two, as it takes the best qualities from both animals and meets in a middle ground. You have to wonder if in a thousand years from now, North America will no longer have coyotes and wolves, but instead a new species derived from the two. Evolution is made on the basis of adapting and competing, afterall.

However, the coywolves are getting themselves into trouble with humans. It will be interesting to see how it plays out overtime.


Thank you for posting this article ^^

[Koa]

The name sounds familiar; I believe I've heard of them before.

Quite interesting. I never knew enough information or even what they looked like. They are quite beautiful, I must say. (I saw the picture on the article)

You are quite right, SD. I also agree with your statement of-

The coywolf is almost a "superior" species of the two, as it takes the best qualities from both animals and meets in a middle ground.

[sushi]

And they reely do take the best of both! They look ubercute! (just had to say it)

[paperpaws]

Coyotes and coywolves really are an under-represented part of nature. People do not realize how intelligent and adaptive coyotes can be, and when those genes are mixed with a wolf's strength and stronger pack-mentality, the result is something quite remarkable.

Totally agree. There are a lot of people who think a coyote is unintelligent and weak, why it actually isn't. So a big agree on that.

Coywolf must be super-creature O-o

[Nor-easter Forecast]

Coywolf must be super-creature O-o

Really, I certainly won't want to get into a tangle with one of those. I once owned a coydog, she was very powerful and smart so I have a good sense of what that would be like. 0-0

[Dewfrost]

A Coywolf? I wasn't sure whether that was a real animal or not, but I guess they really do exist. They sound like very strange and interesting canids, also. O__o

[Hiedidog]

I've been hearing more and more about these lately. xD

[Aeris-Rayn]

i read this in the newspaper a few days ago, and it sorta made me mad! i mean, they're beautiful creatures, but what we've done is made coyotes monsters and taken awat wolf land, thus creating such a "dangerous" creature, and the guy says he doesb't like shooting animals for a living or something!

[Griffinsong]

This is extremely interesting, Pawnee. Thank you for posting this.

[-Larka-]

Coyote populations in eastern Canada display a great deal of wolf interbreeding, with some coyotes being over 50% wolf. The Red Wolf of the eastern US appears to be a wolf-coyote hybrid.

Here are some more pics and articles about it.

http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/Store.html

http://www.naturephotographers.net/arti ... 208-1.html

[Blaidd Drwg]

they are beauteful creatures
I think if they continue to interbreed, the villages around their territory well have lots of problems

[-Sheeba]

It's believed that coywolves are where I live; in Newfoundland, Canada.

My grandfather is a trapper, and a few years ago, a "coyote" was caught in one of his coyote traps. The animal was a whopping 75 pounds (much larger than any coyote), and had the facial features of a wolf. In my grandfather's 40 years of trapping, he's never seen a coyote the size of this one. The animal actually had only three legs.

Coyotes here also travel in packs. A little while ago, there was a pack of about 6 coyotes wandering around, and seen several times, but this wasn't strange for around here. Coyotes are seen in groups dozens of times.

They aren't scavengers, instead taking on full grown caribou, bringing them down successfully over, and over again. There aren't any wolves in Newfoundland, or any other predators that would be capable of doing this, so that leaves the coyote as the suspect. In the winter, caribou are found mangaled, with most of it eaten on the ice, clearly the victim of a coyote attack, as it has happened so often. Since coyote populations has become greater, the caribou are disappearing. When I was younger, caribou herds were seen everywhere, and in big numbers. Just last winter, I have seen a total of 4 caribou, in just one day.

Now, for the coyote attacks. Myself had come close. I was only about 12 years old at the time, and was in my backyard playing in the snow. My backyard is all forest, and I have been told to come in when in began to get dark, for the coyote reason only. It was getting dark then, and I was about to come in, when not 20 yards away a coyote was staring at me. I froze, and had begun to back away, when it let out a snarl. Well, that was enough for me, and took off running into the house. I've never came so close to a coyote in my life, and it remains the same now.

My aunt on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Well, her dog Theodore should I say. Now, Theo is a Labrador Retriever. A big one at that, easily weighing 100 pounds. My aunt was taking him for a walk. A coyote came upon them, and instantly went after the dog. My aunt did the first thing that came to mind, and hopped into a nearby truck, honking the horn and screaming at it. The coyote didn't even take notice of her, and went for Theo's throat. Luckily, Theodore was wearing a large leather collar, which was the only thing that saved the 100 pound dog from the coyote. Eventually, Theo managed to fight it off, and the coyote ran back into the woods. Theo suffered a few bites, but nothing serious. He was treated for rabies, and the tests came back positive. So, if the coyote was most likely not rabid.. what made it come after the dog for no apparent reason?

The third story of a coyote attack in the town I live, is when a guy, and his girlfriend from my school was walking down the road, houses on either side of them. A coyote sprang from the woods, and game after the boy, grabbing his leg, frequently letting go to jump and snap at him. He screamed at his girlfriend to run and get help, so she did. He was left alone with the attacking animal. Then, he remembered that he had cleats on (shoes with spikes on the bottom of them), so he kicked at the coyote, hitting it a few good times, but it still wouldn't turn away. With one last hard kick, the coyote yelped, and took off back where it emerged from. The guy wasn't hurt badly, but did have to go to the hostpital for stitches in his leg.

Coyotes have been spotted in people's yards hundreds of times, even a few have been spotted on their front bridges. Coyote pups are heard in my backyard every spring. My friend's cousin went skidooing with a few of her friends once, and a coyote came running along beside them while on skidoo. They clearly aren't shy at all. Kids of all ages are forbidden to go into the woods, especially around dark.

My friends and I learned that the hard way, just this summer. We were playing a game (kill or be killed, to any of those who knows what it is), and it was almost completely dark when we were something shuffling around in the woods. We were currently looking for two of my guy-friends, so we thought it was them. But then we realized it wasn't a person, because something had groweled. We all took off running as fast as we could, singing out to our two friends who were still hiding. They answered far back in the direction we were running, so we knew it really wasn't them. Knowing loud noises usually scare away animals, and in case it was following us, I break out singing "Hot n' Cold" on the top of my lungs xD My other friend started singing along with my until we were out and back on the road, lol.