Did you know that coyotes, wolves, and your beloved Fifi can mate?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238364)
Walnut Creek, California
November 10, 2015 7:35pm CST
I heard a report on the radio yesterday that surprised me. Coyotes, wolves, and dogs are genetically similar enough that they can all mate. Apparently, many animals we think of as coyotes or wolves are actually hybrids. On the East Coast, the report said, some "super coyotes" are emerging that are something like 25% wolf.
Coincidentally, one of my kid clients and I saw a really healthy looking coyote about 30 yards away from us the other evening as we were returning from a hike. I remember thinking: That's a big coyote--he looks almost like a wolf. I wonder if there are some super coyotes out here on the West Coast as well.
The picture is of a coyote my adult friends and I ran into several months ago on a day hike. He darted off into the bushes before he got to within 40 yards of us.
6 people like this
7 responses
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Nov 15
This would be a worry if it is true. And I should think it would be true. Some wild dogs in Australia are turning up which are really big which seems to point to dingoes mating with large dog breeds that have escaped or been dumped.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Nov 15
@TheHorse Yes, that is true. They are lean dogs but not very tall. It's believed they came down from Asia when Australia/New Guinea were all joined to the Asian continent. Certainly when we were in Thailand in an outback village we saw dogs that were very like our dingoes.
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
11 Nov 15
It's really interesting to see how those genetic combinations work, isn't it? Our coyotes are generally straight coyote, but there are some people who have wolf-dog hybrids in our area.
My father-in-law once claimed that a dog he had was Queensland heeler crossed with dingo... he's a pathological liar, though, so I have no idea if it was actually true or not. The dog seemed like a typical heeler to me. 
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
13 Nov 15
I remember a friend of min had a half husky half wolf dog. he was beautiful and had the bluest eyes and they were so crystal clear. The dog was so sweet and gentle you would never know he was mixed with wolf. You could tell he had wolf in him but he didn't act like it at all.
I have another friend who rescues coyotes and keeps them and trains them. I would be afraid to do this one. Most of the ones she has she has raised them since they were babies. I remember once she wrote me and told me she had some complaints from her neighbors about this. She has a giant fenced in area in her back yard that they live in. There is no way for them to escape because she even has a fence on the top of the run.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
11 Nov 15
The wolf-coyote hybrid has been discovered in the West. Not to worry. Just avoid them, as with all wild things. But, I know you are wise to this, and probably teach it to the young kids you are around.
@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
11 Mar 16
Our border collie mix, bred with a wolf. We had some very attractive pups. One was much more of like than the others.
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@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
11 Mar 16
@TheHorse they did. They were wonderful dogs.
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@TheHorse (238364)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Mar 17
@Morleyhunt Did you find good homes for all of them?
@Auntylou (4262)
• Oxford, England
11 Nov 15
How intriguing. I suppose it is a bit like horses and donkeys. Wonder if the hybrids breed?
@TheHorse (238364)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Nov 15
That was my next question, once you mentioned horses and donkeys. Are mules sterile? I used to know! I'm assuming the hybrids breed. The guy I heard interviewed was talking in terms of "percentages." "We've discovered some coyotes that are 70% coyote, 20% wolf, and 10% dog." I think he said that the "wolfiest" coyotes were on the East Coast, but @Elizabethwallace 's comment has made me want to investigate how "wolfy" some of our coyotes are out here.
