L.B is a dedicated reader of this blog and a life long naturalist.................Today, he provides us with his take on the "canid soup" that likely runs through the population of North Carolina Coyotes and remnant Eastern Wolves(The Eastern Wolf Restoration Program is under review currently by the USFW)..........While I have commented previously that the Red Wolf Restoration should continue at least until there is a large enough population that might insulate itself from Coyote admixing, many, including L.B. take the position that the most resilient canid, and one that might persist into the forever despite our human interference very well could be a hybrid "Coywolf"(so named by Massachusetts biologist Jon Way)..............Able to hunt both alone and in groups, the Coywolf(Eastern Coyote) surely has demonstrated a "wily" ability to persist under all type of persecution unlike the Gray and Eastern Wolves whose more social pack nature(once disrupted, chaos and confusion and often death of remaining packmates results) has allowed humans an easier hand at their disruption and extirpation from huge expanses of their former ranges..............Nonetheless, lets get some more of those Eastern Wolves into the southeast and beyond,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and then let nature take its course producing the most fit canid to both fulfill deer catching ecological functions as well as putting up with us, the ultimate predator on the planet

Rick:

I work at the N. C. Zoo, where we captive breed Red Wolves, and some pups born here have been successfully placed in wild Red Wolf dens to be adopted and raised wild--both a population boost and genetic diversity boost for the 100 to 150 wild Red Wolves on the coast in N. C. We JUST had one of the programs representatives come and give a lecture at our zoo, updating us on how things are going(GREAT program! I hope it continues--there is an effort afoot to end it, alas!)).


Red Wolf(Eastern Wolf)

 I actually asked if anyone in her program knew of any "coywolf" genes in N. C.--they HAVE been documented as far south as Virginia so far. She didn't have any current knowledge on that, but there IS going to be an URBAN COYOTE study in Charlotte, N. C. starting up, and no doubt they'll be doing genetic tests.

 I'll be VERY surprised if various different elements of the "canis soup" don't turn up! I personally saw a local news segment a few years back where someone got film of a wild canid alongside a highway near Raleigh, N. C. To me, it did NOT look like your typical coyote--the muzzle was much heavier(1st thing I noticed), and it looked to me to be at least part Red Wolf(and regularly observing some of this "old bloodline" of "pure" Red Wolves here at the N. C. Zoo, I'm purty familiar with the differences). No doubt lots of crossbreeding has gone on--an effort is made to try and control this(a WASTE, in my opinion! 


Eastern Coyote(Coyowolf)

I'd personally take those crossbred pups and disperse them elsewhere, to get AS MUCH of that old Red Wolf genetic influence around as possible!), but no way can they get to 100% of the crosses, who then no doubt disperse widely upon maturity. Same thing happened up in the Smoky Mountain National Park back in the 1990's--though "officially" canceled(due to various problems, INCLUDING Red Wolves crossbreeding regularly with the local populous coyotes!), and "officially" reported to have retrieved all the "pure" Red Wolves, MANY hybrids remained and have continued to influence the coyote population there, as well! 


Western Coyote(they bred with Eastern Wolves to create Eastern Coyotes(Coywolves)

So that's at BOTH ENDS of the state of N. C., AND eastern Tennessee, AND these guys can disperse for many miles, so whether officialdom wants to acknowledge it, I personally believe there ARE quite a few wild coy-wolf types out there with some of the old bloodline Red Wolf influence! But remember, that's NOT official(yet...) And I say, power to them! The return of the NEW "Red Wolves"!!!.....L.B.
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   Last Updated: 9/23/14

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Red Wolves and Coyotes Are red wolves and coyotes the same  species?No, red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes  (Canis latrans) are two separate species.  However, they are closely related  evolutionarily and do share a recent  common ancestor (see Chambers et al.  2012 for full details).  Red wolves  are larger; measuring about five feet  long nose to tail and weighing 45-80  pounds.  Coyotes are approximately   three feet in length, and weigh 25-35  pounds.  These are averages, and   there can be some size overlap between  the species given individual variation. Red Wolf:                                            Coyote: Photo credits: B.  Crawford /USFWS (red wolf), Jerry  Murray (coyote) Red wolves are mostly brown and buff  colored with some black along their  backs; there is sometimes a reddish  color behind their ears, on their muzzle,  and toward the backs of their legs.   They have tall pointed ears and long,  slender legs with large feet. Coyotes  can be observed with a variety of  color variations ranging from buff,  brown, grey, or black. Generally,  coyotes tend to have a longer,  narrower muzzle than red wolves. Red Wolf:                      Coyote: Photo credits:  B. Bartel/USFWS Do red wolves breed with coyotes?The short answer is yes, they can.  Red wolves (Canis rufus), gray  wolves (Canis lupus), coyotes  (Canis latrans), and domestic dogs  (Canis lupus familiaris) and are  capable of interbreeding and  producing fertile offspring.   While social structures and  territoriality usually prevent  such interbreeding, the  combination of a small red  wolf population, a large coyote  population, and limited space  in the recovery area can result  in a breakdown of the natural  barriers. During the initial site selection  process for the red wolf  restoration program, the  northeastern North Carolina  (NENC) Red Wolf Recovery  Area was uninhabited by  coyotes.  However, coyotes  have expanded their range  eastward; individuals were  observed in NENC beginning  in the early-1990s.   As a result, an adaptive  management plan was needed  to eliminate the threat of  hybridization.  Research has   demonstrated that sterilized  coyotes remain territorial and  continue to defend space. It is  this concept of holding space  that is being applied to manage  hybridization by providing  managers time, information,  and a higher degree of control  over the recovery landscape,  while simultaneously providing  reproductive advantage to the  red wolf.    Ultimately, sterilization is a  method that allows territorial  space to be held until that animal  can be replaced naturally or by  management actions. Sterile   “placeholder” coyotes are then  naturally replaced when the larger  red wolves displace or kill the  coyote.  Occasionally, we may  remove a coyote from an area  when we have the opportunity  to insert a wild or translocated  red wolf into that territory or  if we have a red wolf dispersing  into that area. The bottom line is that space is  limited in the recovery area.  Ideally, within the restored red  wolf population in NENC, that  space is initially best occupied  by breeding pairs of red wolves,  non-breeding mixed (red wolf/ coyote) pairs, and non-breeding  coyote pairs.  By sterilizing   coyotes, introgression of non- wolf genes will be controlled  and territories will be unavailable  for colonization by breeding  coyote pairs or red wolf-coyote  pairs.  As the red wolf population  grows, having space available for  dispersing red wolves becomes   increasingly important, and this  space is provided through natural   interspecific competition and/or  management actions. A coyote being fitted for a radio-telemetry collar.  Photo by B. Bartel/USFWS. Currently, in addition to the ~70+ radio- collared red wolves, we are actively  tracking and monitoring 60+ sterilized,  placeholder coyotes.  They are captured,  processed, and released similar to red  wolves (with the additional step of  sterilization at a local veterinary hospital).

Last Updated: 9/23/14

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