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Coyote-Wolf Hybrids Have Spread Across U.S. East
National Geographic ^ | November 7, 2011 | Christine Dell'Amore

Posted on 11/07/2011 8:14:28 PM PST by jazusamo

Hybrid offspring of coyotes and wolves have spread south along the eastern seaboard, a new DNA study confirms.

Scientists already knew that some coyotes, which have been gradually expanding their range eastward, mated with wolves in the Great Lakes (map) region. The pairings created viable hybrid offspring—identified by their DNA and skulls—that have been found in mid-Atlantic states such as New York and Pennsylvania.

Now, new DNA analysis of coyote poop shows for the first time that some coyotes in the state of Virginia are also part wolf. Scientists think these animals are coyote-wolf hybrids that traveled south from New England along the Appalachian Mountains.

The study also identified another coyote migration route moving through the southern states.

"You have a situation where you have these two waves of coyotes coming into the mid-Atlantic, a terminus for coyote colonization," said study leader Christine Bozarth, a research fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.

Northern Virginia in particular seems to be a convergence point for coyote migrations, Bozarth said—and the animals' numbers are increasing there, especially in suburban areas where food is more plentiful.

(See "Coyotes Now at Home in Eastern U.S." )

Versatile Coyote Already Widespread

Coyotes are originally residents of middle America, particularly between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.

By the end of the 20th century, the versatile animal—which can eat almost anything, from shoe leather to fruit—had spread to nearly every corner of the U.S., even New York City.

The coyote is "one of the animals that will be left at the end, like the cockroaches, raccoons, and rabbits," Bozarth said.

For the new study, Bozarth and colleagues collected coyote scat samples in northern Virginia and extracted DNA. The team then compared the coyote DNA with that of representatives of every canid species found in eastern North America. ( Get a genetics overview .)

The study, published October 17 in the Journal of Mammalogy, found evidence that Virginia coyotes mated with Great Lakes wolves but not with the rare red wolf, which is hanging on in just a few isolated spots in the U.S. South.

That's "good news for the red wolf," whose survival is already threatened by inbreeding, which reduces the species' genetic diversity, Bozarth noted.

Hybrid Coyotes Taking Down Deer?

For now, it's impossible to say how "wolfy" the newly identified coyote-wolf hybrids really are, Bozarth added—just that "at some point down the line, a coyote mated with a Great Lakes wolf-even generations ago."

Scientists have not yet studied the behaviors of the Virginian hybrids to see if they're killing bigger wildlife or otherwise changing the ecosystem, Bozarth added.

But other East Coast hybrids seen alive or identified by their remains are noticeably larger, with more wolf-like skulls, jaws, and teeth, Bozarth noted. (See pictures of new hybrid species appearing in the warming Arctic .)

Given this, coyote-wolf hybrids "should be able to do things like take down deer, which a little, scrappy Great Plains wily coyote would not be able to do on its own," Bozarth said.

Indeed, the research highights "just how successful and adapted these hybrids are to the eastern forests," said Roland Kays, curator of mammals at the New York State Museum in Albany.

For instance, Kays's research on the previously known eastern hybrids has shown that a third of their diet is deer—a much higher proportion than in western states.

Coyotes in Mid-Atlantic "Here to Stay"

Jonathan Way, a wildlife biologist and head of the Massachusetts-based education group Eastern Coyote Research, called the new paper "timely."

Coyotes coming from the west are moving not only through the Great Lakes but also south of the region, through Ohio. But until now, it was unknown how that southern route of colonization was influencing coyotes in the mid-Atlantic region, Way said by email.

According to Way, these two fronts of coyote expansion have probably made the Virginia animals "hybrids of a hybrid."

That's because the Virginia hybrids are most likely a combination of northeastern coyote-wolf hybrids, which are slightly bigger and more wolf-like, and nonhybrid coyotes coming through Ohio.

"The results of the paper are clear and important, and confirm that mid-Atlantic coyotes have DNA from [Northeast] animals ... and western coyotes," Way said.

Whatever their exact genetic makeup, one thing is clear, study author Bozarth emphasized: Coyotes and coyote-wolf hybrids in the mid-Atlantic are "absolutely established—they're here to stay."



TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: coyote; hybrids; wolf
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To: jazusamo

Regarding a wolf in Douglas County. I have a rancher friend who swore she saw one here in Klamath County this summer.

Do you know of a place online where one can view the locations of known wolves (with collars)?

-Rio


81 posted on 11/08/2011 10:44:42 AM PST by Rio
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To: BCR #226

At least your GSD realizes that they’re “not dogs”.

Some dogs don’t.

Y’all need to pool your money and buy a good neighborhood Borzoi or Irish Wolfhound.

*They* know the score.

:)

Make sure to tell everybody to keep their dogs’ rabies shots up to date, just in case.


82 posted on 11/08/2011 10:49:18 AM PST by Salamander (And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies, who never conceived of us billion dollar babies.)
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To: Straight Vermonter

Are there any hillbillies in Vermont?

If so, there’s the connection.

:)


83 posted on 11/08/2011 10:52:18 AM PST by Salamander (And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies, who never conceived of us billion dollar babies.)
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To: jazusamo
Coyote-Wolf Hybrids

Will it take market share from the Toyota Prius?

84 posted on 11/08/2011 10:52:40 AM PST by N. Theknow (Idi Obama = Just your everyday, ordinary, 3rd World Dictator)
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To: Rio
Do you know of a place online where one can view the locations of known wolves (with collars)?

No I don't and would be surprised if there is such a thing. I believe F & G doesn't make that known for fear someone will go after them. They only admitted to the wolf being in Douglas County because some got a good photo of him. lol

As far as a wolf being in Klamath County I'd say it's a fair possibility and probably isn't wearing a collar.

85 posted on 11/08/2011 10:58:03 AM PST by jazusamo (The real minimum wage is zero: Thomas Sowell)
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To: N. Theknow

LOL!

Wouldn’t be surprised to see a Coyote or Wolf model hybrid EV come out.


86 posted on 11/08/2011 11:00:30 AM PST by jazusamo (The real minimum wage is zero: Thomas Sowell)
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To: jazusamo

Maybe so. I was thinking that DFW was keeping tabs on them, but if they’re inclined to go “lone wolf” like this, then one could turn up anywhere.


87 posted on 11/08/2011 11:13:06 AM PST by Rio
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To: Salamander

We called the police, and we have the right to shoot him, the next time we see him. Our 12 acres is shotgun legal, and there are no restrictions on coyote hunting.


88 posted on 11/08/2011 11:40:22 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Good.

I love all animals but will shoot something that might hurt *my* animals, if I have to.


89 posted on 11/08/2011 12:42:47 PM PST by Salamander (And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies, who never conceived of us billion dollar babies.)
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To: jazusamo


Photograph taken deep in the West Virginia hills. Photographer never went back to that area ...
90 posted on 11/08/2011 12:50:42 PM PST by Scythian
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To: Salamander

We will likely never see him again (the coyote/wolf). They generally don’t come out in the day time. The fact that we saw him mid morning makes me wonder about his health. However, he looked exceptionally healthy. The only time I’ve ever seen coyote here before was in the spring after a hard winter. They are skinny and mangy looking then.

This animal was so good looking that you have to wonder if he was somebody’s mixed breed dog. That would tear me up — to shoot somebody’s dog. But, it would tear me up worse to have something happen to my sweet, senior Golden Retriever.


91 posted on 11/08/2011 1:30:32 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Cyman

Whether the ‘yote dies depends on the amount of antifreeze ingested. If they smell the antifreeze, they will chew on the plastic bottle to get in - they like the sweet taste.


92 posted on 11/08/2011 1:42:43 PM PST by GladesGuru (In a society predicated upon freedom, it is necessary to examine principles."...the public interest)
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To: Salamander

I rescued a 7/8 grey wolf hybrid, what a story.

Then I got to thinking, what if some fool crossed a coyote with a Dobie? Don’t even want to think about it.


93 posted on 11/08/2011 2:15:07 PM PST by txhurl (If Perry's a RINO, so are Gingrich and Cain.)
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To: Scythian

Yew best be stayin’ outen them hills, boah.

Thar’s thangs down thur yew’ll not be wantin’ to tangle with.


94 posted on 11/08/2011 3:16:55 PM PST by Salamander (And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies, who never conceived of us billion dollar babies.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

The rabid coon I blasted in August looked ‘very healthy’ too...except for the part where she was attacking my dogs in my back yard in broad daylight.

The two ‘babies’ I found in the lane..well, not so much.

They were pretty far gone and easy to dispatch.

She was a bit of effort.

Better safe than sorry and if it’s somebody’s roaming dog mix that would hurt your sweet old pup, to me, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference.

It’s all about “mine vs. theirs” and I’ll pick ~mine~ any day.

If you’re really worried, fire a shot into the ground near it but not hitting it.

Whatever it may be, that will dissuade it from coming back.

Keep in mind the ones who stalked my dad did it around 2PM on a summer day with more than enough natural prey in the area.


95 posted on 11/08/2011 3:23:53 PM PST by Salamander (And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies, who never conceived of us billion dollar babies.)
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To: txhurl

An already brilliant dog crossed with a savvy, wily coy?

Yeah, that’d be pretty bad.

A friend in CA had a permit to keep wolves.

She let them be wolves and they actually babysat her little son as if were one of their pups.

He’d toddle to the top of their dirt mound den and the mama wolf decided it wasn’t safe for him to do so, so she’d go up and get him by the shorts and carry him back into the den.

Kept trying to get him to nurse, too.

[no, the boy’s name wasn’t Romulus or Remus]...;D


96 posted on 11/08/2011 3:28:31 PM PST by Salamander (And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies, who never conceived of us billion dollar babies.)
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To: Salamander
Are there any hillbillies in Vermont?

Clearly you have never been to Vermont!


97 posted on 11/08/2011 3:56:47 PM PST by Straight Vermonter (Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)
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To: Straight Vermonter

Nope, I haven’t.

Sounds like I’d feel right to home, though...:)


98 posted on 11/08/2011 4:15:55 PM PST by Salamander (And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies, who never conceived of us billion dollar babies.)
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