Hybrid coy-wolf?
General Topic
He looks a bit "wolfy"...
Looks like a color phase Northern NY Coyote, I live in the Northern Zone, and we have some big yotes up here!
The width of the head is what got me. Never seen a coyote with a head that big.
His head does look a bit boxy or else I’d lean towards full blood coyote.
Looks like a really big coyote to me. I love the color on him though. Definitely worth a full body mount in my eyes.
May be a Red Wolf. Pretty well known the eastern Coyotes, here in VA and in NC anyway, are larger because of Red Wolf interbreeding. Every now and again someone will kill one that is confirmed as a wolf. Usually in North Carolina as they have tried to get them re-established. Sometimes you hear of them being shot in the Piedmont area of VA. Although they are typically mostly down this way I believe there are some up there too. I wouldn't want to be the one that shot one and have it being confirmed though. The stories of wolves being shot down this way usually quiet fairly quick once whoever is talking about it finds out they are on the Endangered species list and protected.
That critter has some wolf in it, not a doubt in my mind.
Looks like someone's pet to me.
Pat, do you know what that dog weighed? I think it's fairly well accepted that all Eastern Coyotes have some degree of wolf DNA. The name Coywolf doesn't really roll off the tongue but it is probably appropriate. They are killing and eating big game and hunting in packs, decidedly wolf-like behavior.
I hunted with a guy in Maine who told me that their DNR wants to test any "coyote" that weighs over 50 pounds.
CBS news had video last nite of a coy-wolf spotted in Rockland county New York. Same exact body features of animal in pic above. Could have been his twin. Definitely had more wolf blood than coyote and the animal was huge.
To my knowledge we don’t have any coy-wolf here but there are now multiple packs of wolves moving through the eastern and central part of Oregon. When they get to the West “rain forest” side will be impossible to track em. Going to call predators this weekend with my youngest and if we saw that dog in the original post I may hesitate as look “Wolf” like to me. Wolves in Oregon are on the endangered species list and big trouble if you shoot one. Back to the topic though. I would have tanned that Hide up as has great coloring.
Blonde,no black hair at all.
Blonde,no black hair at all.
Just a dark Northern coyote.We have killed them all; solid black,red and blonde(no black hair).They kill hundreds in my area every year;50 lbs.is very rare.
Agree with "Ace"....the Eastern Coyote is the biggest of all yotes due to the wolf lineage.
Looks like a standard yote. The size difference between even a big yote (say 50lbs) and an adult wolf (say 90-110lbs) is huge!
Yeah, I would like to hear how much it weighed?
We have a lot of coyotes here in Central NY, and some are very large, and dark colored. Got one dominant male that is probably close to 65#. Then a couple weeks ago I was hunting near Waterville and came upon several fresh yote tracks, inc. this beast. I wear size 11.
I think it's just a dark phase yote. Looks cool though. I know the yotes in wv are close to the same size as they are here in central Ohio. I'm sure the farther you go north from here they weigh more. It amazes me the way some guys around here over estimate their weight. I get guys telling me all the time they see a 50-70 lber. We've been trapping and snaring them here for 13-14 years now and keeping track of weights. The biggest yet was 48.12lb. The average is around 36lb for here. Here's a pic from 2013. I think we had 130 some yotes and 12 red fox. We finished the year right at 150. We do get a few different color phases. Mostly the standard, but several red and light colors. I've yet to get a black, but hear about them every year.
Now that the orange army is out of the woods I'm gonna start trapping and snaring again at the end of the week. If anyone is interested I can start a guess this yotes weight thread?
Here's one to think about. I caught it the day I was knocking down snares before gun season started this year. Any guesses on weight?
Wv,thx for your professional knowledge,,,.it's really needed on this thread,,,,thanks again,,,Grafton native,,,
Looks like a large coyote to me. Shot this one in Vermont. Weighed 52lbs on a scale.
The PBS program Nature did an interesting documentary on the coywolf. Hit You can view it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhtuHXInt88
same coyote next to a average 35lb coyote
same coyote next to a average 35lb coyote
this one was last winter in north central mass on NH border. he was enormous. it has been proven most all northeast coyote ha e wolf/coyote/domestic dog dna
The hide/color mean nothing, but that head!! kota-man x2. I don't believe I've seen a coyote with that broad of a mellon ever - and the width of the forehead is substantial!!
All eastern coyotes are red wold hybrid/coyote combinations. Thats why western coyotes are so much smaller - no red wolf DNA.
I read a book by Dan Flores called Coyote America last winter. The persecution of wolves in the western states caused the coyotes to swim the Mississippi river. Before that, they were not found East of the Miss. Wolves were strictly pack animals and much easier to extirpate. Coyotes being so much more adaptable survived the persecution of bounties and poisons.
Today, there is no such thing as "pure" red wolf DNA or eastern coyote DNA. They have interbred so much that its all muddled together. Red wolves & coyotes are "close" (whatever that means) and can interbreed. Gray wolves and coyotes, however, are mortal enemies.
In a coyote research center in Utah (100 pairs of coyotes used for research), they inseminated a female coyote with gray wolf semen. When the pups were born, the mamma coyote killed them.
In Yellowstone (a rare experiment due to no hunting and minimal interference of mankind in managing the species there), the gray wolves killed back the coyotes. Now that the wolves and coyotes have been around for a while, the coyotes are expanding.
Coyotes self regulate their populations by listening to howling. If there are a lot of coyotes, they have small litters. If there are lower numbers, they have large litters. After reading the book, I firmly believe that when armageddon occurs, there will be cockroaches, rats and coyotes left. Shoot all you want, but you'll never be able to get rid of them.
Holy cow hillbilly !! You are the man !! I've been tinkering with dirt hole sets and snares at my place lately and have yet to catch one !! You should start a trapping school !!
Interesting stuff curvebow...
We have caught a few in the 40-50 pound range. One went 55 lbs. Saw an article a few years back where they found wolf DNA in our coyotes. Our coyotes look more like a wolf than your standard western coyote. We have caught all colors - black, red, blond and variations in between. The one in Pat's picture looks like an average coyote for western PA.
In Canada here 50+ lb dogs are fairly regular. Weighed on a scale.
The blocky head, short snout and narrow set eyes make it look more dog than wolf to me.
Wv hillbilly, thanks for the good info. It seems almost everyone shoots 60-70 lb coyotes. Of course it's always estimated weight and there's never actual proof.
I was told years ago that yote crossed with Georgia red wolves. Yote have only been around in our part of GA for 30 yrs or so.
No shortage of the cross breeds here in quebec. Headed out on my trapline this morning to check multiple snare sets where there are 2 large packs roaming. Snare one save a moose....
I think all eastern coyotes have a percentage of wolf in them, and some even dog was the stat I read... We had a good thread on the subject a while back but I can't find it now... A lobo is a lobo...
Picture I posted on earlier thread but pertains somewhat here. Taken yesterday morning . I wear 11.5 wide boot. Doesn't answer question just gives you comparison on tracks.
