Despite the common belief that gray wolves and coyotes often
interbreed, scientific literature makes it clear that such direct
crosses are very rare.
So how can a handful of animals that look like gray wolves and were killed in the northern Lower Peninsula be called coyotes by the Department of Natural Resources? Where did the coyote genes originate?
Most likely they arrived indirectly. Smaller eastern wolves and domestic dogs crossbreed with coyotes, and the resulting hybrids undoubtedly also have mated with gray wolves for thousands of years.
But the DNR should be cautious with its claim that those animals in the northern Lower Peninsula weren't wolves. I suspect DNA testing would show degrees of ancestral coyote genes in all wolves in the Upper Peninsula and maybe east of the Mississippi River.
The last thing the agency needs is to hand some clown in the U.P. a defense for killing protected wolves that a local jury might buy -- DNA tests show it has coyote genes, and the DNR says that means it's not a wolf.
Carrying genes from an ancestor doesn't make you the same as that ancestor. Modern humans from outside of Africa carry genes from hominid species that are long extinct, including Homo erectus, Homo habilis and Neanderthal man. That's doesn't make us Neanderthals.
The biggest coyote on record was a male from Wyoming that went 74.75 pounds. Yet the DNR said DNA tests prove that a 74-pound female killed in northern Michigan was a coyote, although it looked exactly like a gray wolf.
I've been unable to find research suggesting that a female coyote could exceed 60 pounds, and anything over 50 would be huge, which makes the DNR's claim seem unlikely.
The DNR said that in addition to genetics, the animals had smaller hunting territories than wolves and acted like coyotes. But the North American animals we lump in the genus Canis -- gray wolves, eastern wolves, red wolves, coyotes and domestic dogs -- seem to have one of the most interchangeable gene pools in nature.
All have 78 chromosomes arranged in 39 pairs and can crossbreed and produce fertile offspring. But just because they can doesn't mean they do. Extensive research in Ontario and Quebec shows that coyotes rarely mate with gray wolves, but they do sometimes cross with smaller eastern wolves.
Since eastern wolves mate with gray wolves, and both wolves mate with dogs, it's not surprising that a dozen generations down the road you'd get animals with genes from several species in their ancestry. Even the rare direct mating of a gray wolf and coyote would result in the perpetuation of mixed genes in both species.
Intermixing of genes from Canis species is so common that biologists argue about whether the eastern wolf and the red wolf are true species or merely hybrids with varying percentages of coyote, gray wolf and dog genes (the latest research suggests they are species).
Adam Bump, the DNR's wolf specialist/biologist in the Upper Peninsula, offered sage advice when he said hunters who see what appears to be a wolf should assume it is a wolf and is protected under state law.
It's advice all hunters -- and especially the wolf haters -- should take to heart.
source
So how can a handful of animals that look like gray wolves and were killed in the northern Lower Peninsula be called coyotes by the Department of Natural Resources? Where did the coyote genes originate?
Most likely they arrived indirectly. Smaller eastern wolves and domestic dogs crossbreed with coyotes, and the resulting hybrids undoubtedly also have mated with gray wolves for thousands of years.
But the DNR should be cautious with its claim that those animals in the northern Lower Peninsula weren't wolves. I suspect DNA testing would show degrees of ancestral coyote genes in all wolves in the Upper Peninsula and maybe east of the Mississippi River.
The last thing the agency needs is to hand some clown in the U.P. a defense for killing protected wolves that a local jury might buy -- DNA tests show it has coyote genes, and the DNR says that means it's not a wolf.
Carrying genes from an ancestor doesn't make you the same as that ancestor. Modern humans from outside of Africa carry genes from hominid species that are long extinct, including Homo erectus, Homo habilis and Neanderthal man. That's doesn't make us Neanderthals.
The biggest coyote on record was a male from Wyoming that went 74.75 pounds. Yet the DNR said DNA tests prove that a 74-pound female killed in northern Michigan was a coyote, although it looked exactly like a gray wolf.
I've been unable to find research suggesting that a female coyote could exceed 60 pounds, and anything over 50 would be huge, which makes the DNR's claim seem unlikely.
The DNR said that in addition to genetics, the animals had smaller hunting territories than wolves and acted like coyotes. But the North American animals we lump in the genus Canis -- gray wolves, eastern wolves, red wolves, coyotes and domestic dogs -- seem to have one of the most interchangeable gene pools in nature.
All have 78 chromosomes arranged in 39 pairs and can crossbreed and produce fertile offspring. But just because they can doesn't mean they do. Extensive research in Ontario and Quebec shows that coyotes rarely mate with gray wolves, but they do sometimes cross with smaller eastern wolves.
Since eastern wolves mate with gray wolves, and both wolves mate with dogs, it's not surprising that a dozen generations down the road you'd get animals with genes from several species in their ancestry. Even the rare direct mating of a gray wolf and coyote would result in the perpetuation of mixed genes in both species.
Intermixing of genes from Canis species is so common that biologists argue about whether the eastern wolf and the red wolf are true species or merely hybrids with varying percentages of coyote, gray wolf and dog genes (the latest research suggests they are species).
Adam Bump, the DNR's wolf specialist/biologist in the Upper Peninsula, offered sage advice when he said hunters who see what appears to be a wolf should assume it is a wolf and is protected under state law.
It's advice all hunters -- and especially the wolf haters -- should take to heart.
source
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