The coywolf is a term used to refer to hybrids between a Coyote (Canis latrans) and the Gray 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.[1] 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 Gray wolves are the same species and that the coyote is a separate species from both.[2] 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.[3] 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 Gray 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. [5]
Behavior
Coywolves have the wolf characteristics of pack hunting and aggression and the coyote characteristics of lack of fear of human-developed areas. They seem to be bolder and more intelligent than regular coyotes. [6]
References
- ^ The decline, fall and return of the red wolf - life - 23 February 2008 - New Scientist
- ^ Doris Feddersen-Petersen, Hundepsychologie, 4. Auflage, 2004, Franck-Kosmos-Verlag 2004
- ^ "Eastern Coyotes Are Becoming Coywolves". David Zimmerman. Caledonian record. http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/local_news/story/fef373e9d. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ^ "The red wolf (Canis rufus) – hybrid or not?". Montana State University. http://www.montana.edu/~wwwbi/staff/creel/bio480/The%20red%20wolf.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ^ "Coywolf: Are they a suburban legend, or a natural fact?". The Chronicle. http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2006/02/13/the_chronicle/news/4ch.txt. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- ^ "The Toronto Star". http://www.thestar.com/unassigned/article/681632. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
External links
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