Are you a coywolf?
Let’s start with a question New Yorkers are very fond of asking, “What’s your background?” Or, “Where are you from?”
The northeastern coyote that we find in NYC is a descendant of coyotes that left the western U.S. starting in the late 1800s. It’s believed that these Midwestern coyotes took one of two routes to the east: north of the Great Lakes into Ontario or one south via the Midwest. On the northern route, around Algonquin Park in Canada, dispersing coyotes ran into a small remnant population of eastern wolves, the wolf native to NYC that could once be found throughout the Northeast. The two species interbred, and the descendants of this region would then carry wolf genes as they continued to expand eastward. To make it more complicated, some eastern wolves in Canada carried gray wolf genes as a result of inter-species breeding. So, the expanding coyote population also picked up some gray wolf genes via the eastern wolf. At some point along the way, either these coyotes or the wolves they interbred with, also interbred with domestic dogs, as well, so dog genes represent a small part of their genome. |
So yes, the coyote we find in the northeast is a bit of a mutt – part of its genome can be traced to gray and eastern wolf ancestors on its family tree. But our coyotes are more than 60% western coyote (~30% wolf, ~10% dog). Calling it a coywolf glosses over the fascinating story for a 2-second sound bite. Check out the article in the Conversation on the topic. The field of genomics is lightning-fast, and we learn new things about coyote evolution all the time. Perhaps one day, after several coyote generations and after enough studies, we will say there are enough differences between western coyotes and northeastern coyotes to call them separate species. We aren’t there yet. So for now, say hello to the Northeastern Coyote.
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