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[[File:Journal.pone.0088861.g002.png|thumb|Journal.pone.0088861.g002]]
[[File:Journal.pone.0088861.g002.png|thumb|Coywolf hybrids are also known to bond together and form packs, a common trait shared between both the coyotes and wolves.]]
The temperament of most coywolves are generally in between both the wolves and coyotes. However, the personalities and behaviours displayed by these hybrids vary depending on the degree of wolf and coyote-contents within each individual. Hybrids with a history of extensive backcrossing to wolves, thus having a higher wolf-content, such as the case with the Great Lake wolf populations tend to behave more like wolves while hybrids on the lower wolf-content spectrum due to having backcrossed extensively with pure coyotes such as the eastern coyotes, usually behave more like coyotes and less like wolves. Eastern coyote pups are generally less aggressive with each other while playing in comparison to the pure coyotes who are known to display higher levels of aggression and start mild fights preceding play. <ref name="bekoff1978">Bekoff, M. 1978. Behavioral Development in Coyotes and Eastern Coyotes. In: M. Bekoff, (ed.), ''Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management'': 97-124. Academic Press, New York</ref>
The temperament of most coywolves are generally in between both the wolves and coyotes. However, the personalities and behaviours displayed by these hybrids vary depending on the degree of wolf and coyote-contents within each individual. Hybrids with a history of extensive backcrossing to wolves, thus having a higher wolf-content, such as the case with the Great Lake wolf populations tend to behave more like wolves while hybrids on the lower wolf-content spectrum due to having backcrossed extensively with pure coyotes such as the eastern coyotes, usually behave more like coyotes and less like wolves. Eastern coyote pups are generally less aggressive with each other while playing in comparison to the pure coyotes who are known to display higher levels of aggression and start mild fights preceding play. <ref name="bekoff1978">Bekoff, M. 1978. Behavioral Development in Coyotes and Eastern Coyotes. In: M. Bekoff, (ed.), ''Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management'': 97-124. Academic Press, New York</ref>


Revision as of 23:02, 6 April 2014

Coywolf
File:Captivecoywolfhybrid.png
An F1 hybrid between a gray wolf and coyote
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Canidae
Genus:
Canis
Species:
Canis latrans x Canis lupus

Coywolves are canid hybrids of wolves and coyotes. They have recently become common in eastern North America, where they have been considered eastern coyotes, eastern wolves, or red wolves.

Hybridizations in captivity

A coywolf hybrid brought out in captivity between a male western gray wolf and a female coyote.

In 2013, a captive breeding experiment conducted in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center Predator Research Facility in Logan, Utah between gray wolves from British Columbia and western coyotes produced six hybrids, making this the very first hybridization case between pure coyotes and northwestern gray wolves.[1] The experiment used artificial insemination and was aimed with the intention of determining whether or not if the sperms of the larger gray wolves in the west are capable of fertilizing the egg cells in the western coyotes. Aside from the historical hybridizations between coyotes and the smaller Mexican gray wolves in the south as well as with eastern wolves and red wolves, grays wolves from the northwestern USA and western provinces of Canada are not known to interbreed with coyotes in the wild, thus prompted the experiment. The six hybrids brought out from this captive breeding included four males and two females. These coywolves were shortly rehomed at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minnesota where they have been living under the care of professional wildlife caretakers from there on. At six months of age, the hybrids were closely monitored and were shown to display both physical and behaviourial characteristics from both species as well as some physical similarities to the eastern wolves, whose status as a distinct wolf species or as a genetically distinct subspecies of the gray wolf is still being debated among various researchers.[2] Regardless, the result of this experiment concluded that northwestern gray wolves, much like the eastern wolves, red wolves, Mexican wolves, and domestic dogs, are indeed capable of hybridizing with coyotes. Although this hybridization was brought out through artificial insemination due to the gray wolves' natural hostility towards coyotes which would have caused difficulties in attempting to naturally breed the two rival species together.

Eastern coyotes

Many eastern coyotes (Canis latrans "var.") are coywolves, which despite having a majority of coyote (Canis latrans) ancestry, also descend from either the gray wolf (Canis lupus) or the red wolf (Canis lupus rufus, formerly Canis rufus). They come from a constantly evolving gene pool, and are viewed by some scientists as an emerging coywolf species.[3] The genetic composition and classification of the eastern coyote is debated among scientists.[4][5]

A study showed that of 100 coyotes collected in Maine, 22 had half or more gray wolf ancestry, and one was 89 percent gray wolf.[6] A theory has been proposed that the large eastern "coyotes" in Canada are actually hybrids of the smaller western coyotes and gray wolves that mated decades ago as the coyotes moved toward New England from their earlier western ranges.[7]

The red wolf

The red wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf

The red wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf. Strong evidence for hybridization was found through genetic testing that 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 gray 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.[8] However, other scientific evidence may point to the species being evolved from a common ancestor of the coyote and eastern wolf, which would explain similar DNA.[9]

Eastern coyotes in Ontario

On 31 March 2010, a presentation by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources research scientist Brent Patterson outlined key findings that most coyotes in Eastern Ontario are wolf-coyote hybrids, and that the eastern wolves in Algonquin Park are, in general, not inter-breeding with coyotes.[10]

Hybridizations between southern coyotes and Mexican gray wolves

Coyote genes have been found in some wild Mexican gray wolves.[11] This suggests that, when the subspecies was depleted in the wild from persecutions, some of the male wolves from the remnant populations began seeking potential mates in the female coyotes, with the female coywolf hybrid offspring later backcrossing with other male wolves, while the male hybrids may have backcrossed with female coyotes. Analysis of haplotypes from coyotes in Texas also detected the presence of male wolf introgression such as Y-chromosomes from gray wolves in some of the male coyotes. In an extremely rare case, the study found that one coyote out of seventy individuals from Texas was discovered to carry a mtDNA haplotype derived from a female Mexican gray wolf, implicating that a male coyote had also managed to breed with a female Mexican gray wolf in the wild. The Mexican gray wolf may be the only gray wolf subspecies in the southern states (other than familiaris) to have hybridized with coyotes.

In tests performed on a sample from a taxidermied carcass of what was initially labelled as a chupacabra, DNA analysis conducted by Texas State University professor Michael Forstner showed that it was a coyote. Subsequent analysis by a veterinary genetics laboratory team at the University of California, Davis concluded that, based on the sex chromosomes, the male animal was a coyote–wolf hybrid sired by a male Mexican wolf.[12][13] It has been suggested that the hybrid animal was afflicted with sarcoptic mange, which would explain its hairless and blueish appearance.[12]

Differences between populations and subspecies

The subspecies of wolves and coyotes involved in these hybridizations depend upon the geographical population. However, most subspecies tend to overlap in range making intraspecific hybridizations between different coyote and wolf subspecies possible. As a result, classifications and taxonomy is often difficult and has been met with challenges.

  • Canis latrans x Canis rufus is often used by various researchers to refer to the hybrids between coyotes and red wolves in North Carolina. [14]
  • Canis latrans thamnos x Canis lupus lycaon is used for the eastern coyotes or hybrids of coyotes and eastern wolves living in eastern Manitoba, Ontario, and the maritime provinces as well as the population in the northeastern US. Although other common alternatives are also used such as Canis latrans 'var' or simply Canis latrans x Canis lupus lycaon. [15]
  • Canis latrans lestes x Canis lupus occidentalis are hybrids that were created in captivity between coyotes and northwestern gray wolves. [16]
  • Canis latrans texensis x Canis lupus baileyi refers to the hybrids between southern coyotes and Mexican gray wolves from the southwestern Texas as well as the neighbour southern states and possibly some parts of the northern Mexico. [17]
  • Canis latrans thamnos x Canis lupus lycaon x Canis lupus nubilus refers to the hybrids within the Great Lake regions. These hybrids are said to be triple mixes between coyotes, eastern wolves, and Great Plains wolves and may be the result of hybrids of the former two overlapping with the latter. [18]
  • Canis latrans latrans x Canis lupus gregoryi refer to hybrids between the extinct Mississippi valley wolves and an earlier coyote population that arrived in the former's range.
  • Canis latrans frustor x Canis lupus floridanus refers to hybrids between southeastern coyotes and the extinct Florida wolves. The modern day population have since backcrossed extensively with coyotes as the wolves disappeared from Florida during the early 1900s.

Behavior

Coywolves have the wolf characteristics of pack hunting and the coyote characteristic of lack of fear of human-developed areas. They seem to be bolder and more intelligent than regular coyotes.[19]

File:Journal.pone.0088861.g002.png
Coywolf hybrids are also known to bond together and form packs, a common trait shared between both the coyotes and wolves.

The temperament of most coywolves are generally in between both the wolves and coyotes. However, the personalities and behaviours displayed by these hybrids vary depending on the degree of wolf and coyote-contents within each individual. Hybrids with a history of extensive backcrossing to wolves, thus having a higher wolf-content, such as the case with the Great Lake wolf populations tend to behave more like wolves while hybrids on the lower wolf-content spectrum due to having backcrossed extensively with pure coyotes such as the eastern coyotes, usually behave more like coyotes and less like wolves. Eastern coyote pups are generally less aggressive with each other while playing in comparison to the pure coyotes who are known to display higher levels of aggression and start mild fights preceding play. [20]

Noticeable similarities in the lower wolf-content coywolf hybrids to their parent coyote species include their adaptability to thrive on edge habitats in agricultural, suburban and urban areas.[21] In addition, lower wolf-content hybrids prey mostly on smaller animals such as rabbits, mice, and have been known for being opportunist omnivores. They will scavenge on whatever is available from small animals to dead ungulates left behind by other carnivores. However, under circumstances where a potential large prey is injured, lower wolf-content hybrids may cooperate as a pack like their parent wolf species in taking the ungulate down. [22]Upper wolf-content hybrids such as the Eastern wolves within the Algonquin provincial park range, on the other hand prefer to stay away from human-developed areas. In addition, upper wolf-content hybrids subsist largely on medium-sized herbivores such as deers and therefore cannot thrive in urban cities where the availability of such prey are almost nonexistent coupled with the high risk of persecution by humans. A common similarity between the hybrids to both of their parent coyote and wolf species is that they generally live in packs consisting of an alpha pair. However, the difference with the coywolves is that they form smaller packs than pure wolves but are in turn larger and hold more extensive territories than coyotes. [23] Coywolves generally disperse from their original packs much earlier than wolves but usually remain longer with their parents than pure coyotes.

Attacks on humans

Any coyote attack within the range of the eastern coyote may also be a coywolf attack. In the most famous and serious of these, Taylor Mitchell was killed in a predatory attack by pack of three coywolves[citation needed] on October 27, 2009 while she was hiking on the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia.[citation needed] All other known victims of such attacks have survived.

References

  1. ^ http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3812#.UxFuc_ldWwQ
  2. ^ http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088861
  3. ^ Vyhnak, Carola (Aug 15, 2009). "Meet the coywolf". Toronto Star. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  4. ^ Chambers, Steven M. (Jun 2010). "A Perspective on the Genetic Composition of Eastern Coyotes". Northeastern Naturalist: 205–210. doi:10.1656/045.017.0203. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  5. ^ Oosthoek, Sharon (February 23, 2008). "The decline, fall and return of the red wolf". New Scientist. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  6. ^ WILSON, P., J. JAKUBAS, AND S. MULLEN. (2004). Genetic status and morphological characteristics of Maine coyotes as related to neighboring coyote and wolf populations. Final report to the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund Board, Grant #011-3-7. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Bangor, ME. 58 pp.
  7. ^ Zimmerman, David. "Eastern Coyotes Are Becoming Coywolves". Caledonian-Record. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  8. ^ "The red wolf (Canis rufus) – hybrid or not?" (PDF). Montana State University. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  9. ^ Lee, Philip. "North America's Lone Wolf Unmasked". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  10. ^ Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Eastern Wolf
  11. ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2556088/
  12. ^ a b http://bionews-tx.com/news/2013/09/01/texas-state-university-researcher-helps-unravel-mystery-of-texas-blue-dog-claimed-to-be-chupacabra/
  13. ^ http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2008/oct/31/sl_chupa_12/
  14. ^ http://people.trentu.ca/brentpatterson/index_files/Rutledge%20et%20al%202012%20-%20conservation%20genomics%20in%20perspective.pdf
  15. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/wolf-coyote
  16. ^ http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088861
  17. ^ http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003333
  18. ^ http://www.fwspubs.org/doi/pdf/10.3996/nafa.77.0001
  19. ^ Carola, Vyhnak (August 15, 2009). "Meet the coywolf". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  20. ^ Bekoff, M. 1978. Behavioral Development in Coyotes and Eastern Coyotes. In: M. Bekoff, (ed.), Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management: 97-124. Academic Press, New York
  21. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/wolf-coyote
  22. ^ CBC: Coyotes are moose killers, study finds
  23. ^ http://www.projectcoyote.org/newsreleases/news_eastern.html
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